Warmth to the Cold
by MorayEel
Summary: During a cold winter in rural Sinnoh, a Froslass with an interest in humans has her dreams realized when she meets one in person. After being given the benefit of the doubt, she studies and befriends one, unaware of the consequences that may arrive with her actions. Rated M for explicit sexual acts between a human and a Pokémon, as well some violent/tragic scenarios. *COMPLETED*
1. Chapter One: Arrival

It was just another winter in Sinnoh, bitter and wet. It seemed as if every other day brought in another day-long snowstorm to discourage people from going outside and battling. This didn't stop one trainer named Mason, a trainer that didn't enjoy the wet winter season but could cope with it very well. He was tall, hearty, smart, and loved to spend time outdoors exploring and just getting fresh air. Although he didn't look like it, Mason could hold his own when it came to moving heavy things around and doing physical labor, which was perfect for what his plans this winter. Mason traveled to his grandparents' home out in the country not only to take a break from battling, but to help chop down and move trees to process into firewood and sell. Doing so, he would get a cut of the profits, and extra money doesn't hurt at all. And perhaps during his breaks, he could scour the forest at his own leisure, discovering what fascinating Pokémon there are.

After a long morning drive, Mason had arrived at the home his grandparents and several cousins stayed at. A simple two story, country styled house that was always warm and cozy from the furnace being fed firewood, perfect for settling in after a day of working. Mason walked inside and greeted his grandfather, who was busy reading the daily edition of the newspaper.

"Hi, pop! How are you doing?" Mason greeted. His grandfather looked up and smiled.

"Old and bold," replied his grandfather. "As you always know. Your grandmother is away with some of her friends by the way, she'll be back in a week or so. It's just me and Daniel and Neil here." He took a swig of his coffee and went back to reading. Mason kicked off his boots and went to the meat of the matter.

"Another winter like this always calls for firewood, right? Maybe I could help you. I've can hold my own." Mason convened. His grandfather nodded while still reading.

"I know a few friends that will always pay good money for good firewood. Luckily we have a whole forest on our property. If you want to help out, go on right ahead. We'll start tomorrow if you like."

"Yeah, that'd be great." said Mason. He took off his jacket and put it in the closet in the kitchen as he went upstairs to say hello to his cousins that had moved in with their grandparents' consent. Mason went down the hall and into the room ahead, where he found his two cousins, Neil and Daniel, sleeping in. Both were awakened by the ceiling light being flicked on and off repeatedly by Mason. Eventually Daniel got up out of disgust to see Mason patiently stand at the door.

"Remember me? Of course you do. Sorry to wake you up, but I didn't want to make my appearance a surprise to you." said Mason. Daniel rubbed his eyes as he sobered up, with Neil not yet getting up yet.

"Heh, better early than later, I guess," said Daniel," When did you get here?"

"Just now, I talked to grandpa downstairs about chopping down some trees for money. Pretty sure anybody who helps out will get some of the profits." said Mason. He could hear Neil groan in disbelief at going outside eventually while he still lay in his bed.

"I heard that," said Mason," but come on, we don't live at the North Pole. Sure it's cold, and it can always get colder, but this is pretty mild actually."

"Yeah, according to you, from somebody who never ever gets cold." Retorted Neil as he began to get up. It was true that one of the reasons Mason wasn't bothered by winter as much most people was that he had a high natural body temperature. Even while he was outside doing work in the snow, he always felt he was burning up inside in spite of the cold. Mason commonly had to unzip his jacket in the midst of working, which was awkward, but he paid no attention to it.

"And? I don't mind the cold; it's just all the damn snow outside. Turning black in the city and piling up, then it melts in the spring and we get two straight weeks of muddy ground." replied Mason. "We can all use a little extra cash in our pockets by helping out our grandpa, right?"

"You got a point there," said Neil. "I still don't like this damn weather."

The three boys went downstairs to eat some breakfast and chat about what happened in the past, specifically what Pokémon they caught and the battles they won. It was quite immersive, if not heated, as they tried to brag about their own Pokémon being the best out of the group.

" Your Kabutops wouldn't last a minute against my Machamp!" Gloated Mason, stuck in the topic of imaginary battles with his peers.

"Your Machamp couldn't touch it though. I made mine quick to respond; it'll dodge everything you throw at it." Said Daniel.

"I've specifically got one that knows Dynamic Punch. He'll hit you, and he'll hit you hard. It helped me out in a lot of battles." Mason responded. Daniel thought about it and realized his Kabutops probably couldn't hold out.

"I've got a Vileplume that could wipe the floor with both of you easily," said Neil as he participated in the conversation. "Whittle you away with Sludge Bomb and Solarbeam anyday."

"I'm sure it could." Said Mason sarcastically. Between the heated hypothetical battles they waged and strategies they passed on, nearly an hour passed by until their grandfather intervened.

"That's enough out of you boys. You should take it outside and get some fresh air." He suggested. The boys listened and considered the thought. Thinking that there was no time like the present, Mason got up first to retrieve his jacket and boots from the kitchen closet to go out and brave the outside. Daniel and Neil agreed that they would meet up later outside. Mason didn't argue as he exited the house and went to the forest. He knew almost all of it like the back of his hand, every clear trail to large rock perfect for jumping over, as he frequently visited the forest on his grandparents' property in the past.

"Of course I'm going alone, but hey, I like it all to myself." Mason said to himself as he went forward without a care in the world to the frozen wilderness, ready to embrace it and discover what he would find.


	2. Chapter Two: Meeting each other

Around the same time Mason had arrived to greet part of his family, so did a Pokémon wake deep in the forest up to greet the day. Emerging from a large hallowed out tree trunk she declared her home was a Froslass, complete with her snow white kimono and charming crystals on her head. She looked up at the light snowfall that was common during this time of the year, with the chilling wind that comforted her. She hummed to herself as she met up with her own two Poké-friends, a Glaceon and a shiny Abomasnow, the latter continuously being looked at for advice.

"Another wonderful day…" the Froslass said who admired the weather more than any of them. "I wish it was always like this."

"The winters are already pretty long, but I don't mind some summer myself." Proclaimed the Glaceon who was lying down to make himself comfortable. "I mean, yeah I love the snow and the cold as much as you do, but having something to break it up is pretty nice." The Abomasnow crossed its arms and nodded in agreement.

"Cherishing the cold is natural for us, but we must also learn to cherish the summer." Answered the Abomasnow. Froslass put her hand on her chin and pondered, realizing the significance of the Abomasnow, the wisest Pokémon in the area. Suddenly, a thought crossed the Froslass's mind.

"What do humans think of the summer?" she inquired with the other two. The Glaceon let out a disappointed sigh at hearing this, while also taking great offence.

"There you go on, talking about humans. When will you learn you shouldn't talk about them, ever? All they will ever do you force you to fight against some giant, foreign Pokémon you never saw before, get beat up, then stuffed into a tiny ball never seen again. I hate humans. I hate them!" barked the Glaceon, who had a very sour relationship with Pokémon trainers, as his mother was captured a long time ago when he was just an Eevee. "But, they're not all like that, are they? "Questioned the Froslass, who had subconsciously angered the Glaceon.

"They are! You're telling me you want to be beat up and dragged away from your home into Arceus knows where!?" yelled the Glaceon as he stood up. The Abomasnow stepped in to quell the situation before it could get out of hand.

"Enough out of you two. Mind your tempers." Order the Abomasnow, in which the Glaceon complied immediately and sat back down, still very annoyed at the topic. "As for humans, I do not think that they are all like that. Just because you know of one bad one does not mean the world is void of good ones, but I cannot truly say." Said the Abomasnow. "I understand your curiosity with humans, Froslass, but if you truly wish to slate it, then perhaps you should find and acquaint yourself with one." Froslass was surprised to hear this, as both of them held negative opinions on humans; Glaceon holding the more fiery ones by far.

"You mean, if I ever find one, I could interact with one with your allowance?" questioned the Froslass, feeling a bit anxious. She had always held a curiosity for humans even since she was a small Snorunt. The way they walked, the clothes that they wore, the language they spoke and much more. All of this make her think about studying one in secret, to learn about them and see what mysteries they had. The Abomasnow took a breath and gave his answer.

"Yes. I know that since you were young, you were always fascinated with humans. I believe that in order to satisfy this obsession, you will have to find one yourself." Said the Abomasnow. Froslass's heart fluttered with excitement as she had official permission to observe and interact with any possible humans that she stumbled across. Froslass almost went off on her own right awaybefore the Abomasnow spoke again.

"But, be warned, it may not come without consequence." Bellowed the Abomasnow, trying to warn her. "Whatever will result from dealing with these humans will be because of your doing, whether the consequences are good or evil. But if you are willing to take than risk, then go on ahead. I will not stop you." The Glaceon was dumbstruck and offended by what he just heard.

"Are you sure? What if she dooms us all?" the Glaceon barked in objection. The Abomasnow turned his attention towards the Glaceon. "There are risks in all things, and she is showing she is willing to undertake one of them. I cannot predict what will happen, and dare say, I do not want to, but we will not interfere with her path." Said the Abomasnow towards the Glaceon. The Glaceon tried to find a retort but found nothing, as he looked down at the snow and sighed.

'Fine, then," he said. "But if something bad happens, don't look at us."

"Hmph! You sure don't like giving things chances." Said the Froslass towards the Glaceon, feeling offended. "You'll eat those words when you find out that not all humans are as evil as you say." The Froslass turned her back and ventured on, looking to pursue her own heart and ambitions, disappearing beyond the trees.

Mason had entered the thick of the forest and admired the white beauty all around him. Even though he didn't like snow, he had to give credit that it makes the perfect decorative material in the woods. From the mounds that piled up to the branches drooping down from the weight, something about winter made the scenery all the more magical. Looking up at the snowfall, he caught a few snowflakes on his tongue and whistled to himself, thinking he was all alone within the forest concealed by the feint morning fog.

"I wonder which one we should tackle first…" Mason thought to himself as he scanned the environment looking for the best tree to hack down. Once all the spare snow and ice gets cleaned off, trees still offer invaluable heating for homes. There were plenty of choices, and there could hardly be a "wrong" option he thought. Mason also wondered how much money he would receive for helping his grandpa, whether it would be an insultingly low amount of several dollars to a generous amount of several hundred.

At the same time, the Froslass was scouring the forest to herself. She always thought about humans and the small sphere they would always carry to chuck at other Pokémon. Froslass knew that deep down that not all humans were as bad as Glaceon claimed, and that there had to be ones friendly and curious as her. She had only seen a few in the past before she evolved, and ever since then was drawn to them. What they really looked like, what they could do, and if they could even talk with her. Her fantasies were broken and simultaneously created when she found one off in the distant; Mason.

Her heart skipped a beat; she had found one to observe! Froslass thought of so many things that she almost remained perfectly still in mid-air, like a ghostly statue, that she would be spotted and have her prize potentially run away in fear. And she almost did, when Mason caught a glimpse of a silhouette in the corner of his eye. When he tilted his head to get a better look, Froslass instinctively hid behind a tree to avoid being noticed. Froslass quickly planned out a path to get behind Mason, making sure she was concealed amongst the snow. Froslass wasn't going to let this chance pass up, not without some bravery.

Mason continued on, and occasionally saw silhouettes of what he thought was a shy Pokémon amongst the trees. Mason tried to keep telling himself it was just imaginary and all the snow was playing tricks on him, but a small part of him refused to believe it. He trundled on with caution and was prepared for anything. Froslass managed to eventually sneak around Mason and wind up behind him; a perfect location to get a closer look. Slowly she floated behind him to study him in any way possible. She admired the dark green and black jacket Mason wore, and compared it to her own natural kimono. Did it feel the same though? Froslass could hardly wait and rushed to test her theory, placing her hands on the jacket to feel the hardened and heavy clothes that felt so foreign to her. Froslass, getting too ahead of herself and wanting to experience more; tugged on the jacket to see how flexible and durable it could be. But just as she did so, Mason felt the tug from behind and turned around to see what the problem was. As he did, he met face to face with a wild Froslass, who quickly let go in response. Both were startled to see each other, let alone a few feet apart.

Froslass had panic-inducing thoughts racing across her conscience at the feeling of getting spotted up close. Did he make her first and last mistake? Was she going to be beaten badly like what Glaceon said? Did she think the wrong things of humans, and was going to pay for it? She was petrified in fear and afraid to move in the face of the human she had observed just now. Mason wasn't as surprised as Froslass was, but very intrigued at a wild Pokémon being so close to him without fleeing or fighting. Mason thought if he was done for as well, as wild Pokémon can be very dangerous and attack to protect itself out of instinct. Deciding to take a more friendly approach, Mason broke the awkward silence with some words.

"Uh, hello there. You're a Froslass, right? I'm Mason…" he said, trying to ease her up. Froslass felt a little moved by this, and managed to find strength to nod. Mason was surprised that she could understand him. Perhaps running isn't the way to go, he thought. Mason continued giving words a chance as he chatted with the wild Pokémon.

"Well then, if you're friendly, I'm friendly. Are you friendly?" Mason questioned, making sure he wasn't in any real danger. Froslass nodded again to confirm that she wasn't hostile, at least for the time being if worst comes to worst.

"All right then." Mason said plainly as he turned around and returned forward, trying to pass it on as hardly anything special. Froslass felt energy come back to her as she quietly had a sigh of relief.

"This one didn't seem too bad…" she pondered. Feeling a bit more comfortable, she floated behind him silently. Mason turned around to see the Froslass following him, and didn't mind it at all. In fact he welcomed having a companion for his hike.

"I could use some company here. If you want to keep following me, go on ahead." Said Mason, who beckoned her to stay close and observe. Froslass's fear of humans was almost completely dashed as she continued following his stroll through the woods. She remained on guard just in case Mason was baiting into a trap or willing to betray her and strike out, as even though she was being acquainted with one, she knew very little of them still. Mason enjoyed the company as he talked to the Froslass as he hiked through deep snow.

"So, you can understand me? Interesting. But, I don't think I could understand you. Oh well, we can figure it out eventually." Chatted Mason as the Froslass moved closer to his right side wanting to get a look at his face. His subtle facial hair, his blue eyes, his brown hair that peaked through his hat all began to quench her curiosity about human beings. She floated in front of Mason, causing him to stop unexpectedly, as she slowly stretched out an arm to feel his face. Mason's face felt quite warm, almost uncomfortable to her as she wasn't used to human body temperature. Mason on the other hand felt the soft, silky, cold part of her hand and wanted to return the favor. Mason pressed the back of his index and middle finger against Froslass's right cheek; Froslass felt more of his warmth against her face as Mason felt her cold flesh contradict Mason's own warm fingers and admired how different she could be.

"Interesting… you felt cooler than what I imagined." Said Mason who he withdrew his fingers from Froslass's face. She felt slightly disappointed, as she started to enjoy the strange warmth of a human. It felt different but pleasurable, something she would like to have again. "Well, let's keep moving, shall we?" Mason suggested as he continued to soldier on through the snow. Froslass followed closely behind, with a feeling that this was going to be all right in the end.

The two strolled together for what seemed to be a countless amount of time, each enjoying each other's company. Mason admitted that he never spent this much time with any wild Pokémon outside of a battle, and started to wonder how common this was to other trainers. Froslass felt a special warmth take root inside of her, something she had rarely felt even as an ice-type. It was a form of spiritual, bonding warmth, brought out from being exposed to a human, a creature that she had only heard of negative things of from her peers. Froslass begged to differ. Mason had wondered if there were any more Pokémon around the woods, or if she was the only one, and if there were more, if they were as friendly as she was. Eventually Mason had decided that he had gotten enough fresh air for now, and started to head back to the house.

"Well, I think it's time for me to go." Mason announced to Froslass, making sure that he wasn't going to suddenly abandon her. Froslass felt saddened that their time had drawn on an end. As Mason turned his back and started to retrace his footsteps, Froslass continued to follow suit, not wanting to leave. Mason made it halfway back before he turned around to see the Pokémon following him still.

"Look, I know that you like me, but I can't stay here forever. I'm going somewhere else." Mason tried to convince the Froslass so he could go back in peace, and avoid any awkward questions about why a wild Pokémon was following him wherever he went. "We can meet up again tomorrow, I promise, but I really need to get going." Mason turned around and continued to move back towards the house, not looking behind him any more for the day. Little did he know, his admirer continued to follow him, albeit a bit more stealthily.

Back at the house, Mason kicked off the excess snow off his boots as he went inside to warm himself up. It was twelve-thirty; Mason had been gone for a long time! He poured himself a tall glass of water from the sink and chugged it happily, feeling rehydrated. Another round he filled up and went into the living room, where the boys were watching some old comedy VHS tapes, oblivious to Mason's presence.

"I'm guessing that you didn't go outside yet," Mason said jokingly to make himself known as he sat down to watch some of the tapes with his family members. "It's a shame; it's actually not that bad out."

"For you maybe, but here I'm fine inside." Said Neil he was laying on the couch propped up with some pillows. All of them laughed spontaneously when the tape showed a group of men in barbarian costumes go inside a fancy restaurant and cause a ruckus. When the laughter subsided, they resumed their conversation with extra mirth.

"So, when are we gonna start working, grandpa?" said Daniel, wanting to get it out of the way. "You said that you can pay all of us if we help out."

"Yes, I did. We'll start tomorrow sometime in noon. That should be enough time for you boys to wake up and get ready." said their grandpa. "Back in my day, we went inside the woods and picked out which tree to chop down from there. Hardly any beforehand planning required, just your guts. And it worked out quite nicely in my experience. You boys can figure out which one to chop down tomorrow." Mason was intrigued by this, he never heard of a technique like this from what little he knew of being a part-time lumberjack.

"The bigger the tree, perhaps the bigger the pay? I mean, you can get more wood out of that." Inquired Mason.

"Perhaps, but just because the tree is big doesn't always mean a bigger payment." Answered Mason's grandpa. The topic and mood were suddenly changed when the tape showed the barbarians destroy the restaurant with comically large clubs. The credits rolled and the tape ended, much to the dismay of the boys.

"We got more, right?" asked Daniel who was somewhat disappointed. His grandpa got up and showed a large shopping bag full of them; perfect for killing time. "We have plenty of tapes. Let's all relax and watch more of them, you're not going to be working until tomorrow, so better get comfortable. And all of these are quite long, you'll have some leftover tomorrow." His grandpa said.

"I can live with that!" said Neil who got up and swapped VHS tapes; they were in for a long, lazy day of watching old comedy. That was to say, the humans, as an unexpected fifth member watched from a nearby window, barely peeking and hearing what was going on. It was the Froslass Mason had run into. Froslass had definitely taken a liking to Mason, and was surprised to see three more humans inside the house. She couldn't get a good look at them, as she was peering from the safety of a window and curtain, but for some reason, Froslass had only fixed most of her attention towards Mason, whom she could recognize. Despite having three new humans to observe, she had only cared about one. Whether it was because she knew Mason more than any of them, or there was something else at work, she gazed at him for a while until she had enough and returned to her home.

Back deep into the woods, she felt very content and proud of herself. She met up with Glaceon and Abomasnow again, eager to tell them all about it.

"Did you find any humans as you hoped?" asked the Abomasnow, as he was curious himself. The Glaceon couldn't care less for what he had to hear.

"I did! I found one earlier that was called "Mason". Mason was so friendly!" Said the Froslass happily to her friends. "It was tall, and had blue eyes like mine. Mason didn't even seem to be rude, and he felt very warm!" The Abomasnow nodded at her words, and thought that perhaps all that was needed was to give the humans a chance. "Did you meet any more?"

"I met three more inside this strange square, but I didn't get a good look at them, but there were definitely more inside. Perhaps I'll study them later, but for now I just want to focus on Mason." Answered the Froslass, stating her observations to her friends. The Abomasnow felt good for her that she had a good start.

"Good. Very good. Perhaps we are wrong doubting the humans, but I would still be wary if I was you. It is getting late though, you should rest up," suggested the Abomasnow, noting the sky growing darker with the snowfall growing heavier. They all agreed and went back to their own shelters to catch some shut-eye. Froslass looked forward to meeting Mason again, as she floated back to her hollowed out trunk and drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter Three: Working Hard

The next day, Mason awoke earlier than the other two. As he got up and rubbed his eyes, he went downstairs to get some breakfast to prepare himself for the day of work ahead of him. However, he realized there was going to be a lot more work in store than what he intended; a heavy snowstorm had hit last night! Nearly a foot of snow had arrived to greet Mason, who was wretched at the sight of seeing so much snow. He tried to take his mind off it by lifting the lid of the giant cooking pot at the stove, found it to be full of his grandfather's special recipe; Tauros Gardens! Meatballs made from the finest cuts of a Tauros wrapped in Babiri berries smothered in a sauce from Kelpsy and Tamato berries. It was just the thing needed to keep up Mason's strength, as well as distract him from all of the mounds of snow outside.

"Well well, look who's up!" Mason's grandfather said as he walked in with a mug of a coffee. "We got a lot of snow last night, and it needs to be shoveled. Could you do it for me, Mason?" As much as Mason didn't want to, he accepted the chore with the intentions of good deeds and respect for the elderly. "I will." Answered Mason, who took a deep breath after saying it. Mason didn't want to make his grandfather do it, and he knew that Daniel and Neil wouldn't wake up for a few more hours. "But maybe we should reschedule tree cutting, this might take a couple hours, and it's already nine-thirty. Going at noon when I'm tired just won't work out. " Reasoned Mason.

"I suppose so. What do you say about three O' clock?" wagered Mason's grandfather. Mason agreed as he scarfed down the last of the meal and went for his winter necessities. He went outside, grabbed the snow shovel off the deck, and prepared to clear a path on the driveway.

At the same time, deep in the woods, Froslass woke up to greet the aftermath of a night's snowstorm. Tall mounds of snow piled up everywhere, some that would be deceptively deep to any human who had to walk, she thought. Mounds of snow she could float over easily as well as play and manipulate for entertainment. Froslass thought about Mason again, and wondered where she could possibly find him again. But before doing so, she would announce her plans to her friends as not to arouse unneeded anguish or fear. Froslass's friends had found her instead, who had arrived behind.

"A good thing you haven't left yet. If you are leaving, that is. Are you still wishing to pursue the world these humans?" asked the Abomasnow, showing great responsibility towards her. He did not want to intervene too much, but humans are still quite the quarrelsome topic amongst the ice-type gang. Glaceon could hardly care less as he refused to partake in the discussion.

"I do want to find that Mason again. I have a few ideas of where to start looking. Even if I do not find Mason I'll look everywhere." Froslass said with glee and determination. No doubt about it, she wasn't giving up her affairs with humans for a long time.

"I see." Said the Abomasnow. "Do still take great care when dealing with them. Though you know a lot more about them than we do; we still know so little about them collectively. Be aware of what possible dangers they may bring." As she took in his advice, she departed off with ambition in her heart. Froslass did know of a few places where Mason could be, as she knew this forest perfectly. Every tree to rocks to the bump in the paths, now covered with snow, Froslass recognized, helping her pinpoint a location where Mason would be. Froslass first checked the area where she had first found Mason, but found nothing of interest. Froslass investigated other nearby parts of the wood, but Mason wasn't there. Nearly an hour of searching was spent in vain; almost every inch of the forest she theorized where Mason would be and she looked into them but could not found him. Just before giving up hope, she had a brainwave.

"Oh, how could I forget? What about that place where I found multiples yesterday? Mason's bound to be there!" she thought to herself. Not wanting to waste any more time she hurried off to the house where she followed Mason yesterday; if Mason was not there, she was out of options.

"Gah, damn snow. Why can't we get some dry weather in Sinnoh?" Mason grumbled to himself, tired from shoveling away painful amounts of snow. He had nearly a third of the driveway to go before he could officially be pardoned, and he was slowing down and breathing hard. "And I have to chop down a tree later, this ain't gonna be fun" he continued, silently displaying his dislike towards the shoveling job. As Mason was occupied, Froslass had found the house Mason was staying at. Excited, she looped around to try to find Mason, and she did to her delight. Froslass was behind Mason again, just like yesterday, except he was hunched over, seemingly in pain, as he doing shoveling away all the snow infront of him. Froslass was puzzled, like many things about humans introduced to her, and wanted to help him out somehow. Froslass announced her presence with a soft, harmonious hum in her natural angel-like voice she acquired after evolving to help soothe Mason. He heard her voice and was taken aghast at hearing something so beautiful. He stopped and looked behind him to see the Froslass that had an unmistakable interest in him.

"Ah, it's you!" Mason said with glee, anything to take his mind off the work he had left. "I'm happy to see you again, Froslass. As you can see, I'm kind of busy as of now…" Froslass moved to his right side to get a better idea of what he was doing, and to figure out how to help. "If you got any suggestions, feel free to use them." Froslass scoffed at the remaining snow that had to be moved by Mason.

"Moving snow? That's easy!" she thought to herself quietly, looking at what she thought to be such a menial task. Wanting to help out, she relocated to a better position, inhaled, and scattered almost all the remaining snow to the side with a Blizzard attack she learnt a long time ago. Mason was stunned to see all the remaining amounts of snow be blown off to the side of the driveway so effortlessly, saving him time.

"Wow," Mason said faintly, but loud enough to fall upon Froslass's ears. "I never thought you could do something like that..." Froslass blushed at the compliment, happily showing what she could do. Mason, quite content with the results, added the finishing touches by hauling away any loose traces of snow from the driveway worth shoveling as he made his way back to the house to take a quick nap and rejuvenate as much energy as he could before he would be sent off lumberjacking. Right before he entered the house, he turned around to see Froslass, smiled, and said,

"I'll definitely be seeing you later." before going inside. Froslass was content with herself being able to help out Mason and decided to go back to the woods where she hence came. She was looking forward to meeting him again.

Several hours passed after Mason napped on the living room couch, feeling somewhat refreshed and raring to go. He got onto his feet has his grandfather called to him; now was the time to make some money. Mason raced to the door to don his jacket and boots to go outside once more, only with human company.

"You ready?" his grandfather called to him as Mason came outside to see his grandfather and two cousins clothed and ready.

"Ready when you are." Mason replied. The gang moved to the garage and was armed with premium-grade axes and chainsaws, ready to sink their metal teeth into tree bark. Mason was in charge of operating the chainsaw while Daniel and Neil were armed with old fashioned, two-handed axes with stainless steel blades, all potent in doing their job. Each of them lightly ran their fingers across the cold steel to get a feel of their sharpness and potential.

"Now remember boys, these are not toys. They are tools, tools used for working. Don't try to be funny and swing them around randomly; I will not be responsible for those kinds of injuries." Mason's grandfather had warned. He had a very fine point, of which the boys headed well and seemed almost eager to work with, as they had official permission to use them, use them responsibly, at least. "Do you know how a chainsaw works, Mason?"

"Of course I know. Tug the cord quickly and use it slowly while avoiding getting the blade too wet. Something this heavy and dangerous is gonna be real good for mincing up wood." Mason said enthusiastically.

"One more thing; everybody take these goggles, they'll fit all of you just fine." Said Mason's grandfather as he handed everyone a pair of safety goggles. Content, the gang then moved towards the tractor shed, and Mason's grandfather climbed up onto a vast blue tractor with an enormous, enclosed wagon hitched to the back of it for transportation. The boys stored the axes and chainsaw on that wagon for convenience, until they were ready to do wood-work. With everything ready, the gang went into the icy forest to find the perfect tree to hack down and transmute into highly valued firewood.

Somewhere else in the forest was the curious Froslass that had adored Mason, all alone in a remote area of the wood. She smiled and meditated further on about Mason, wanting to know as many things, important to trivial, about him and humans in general, and how she could convince her friends to view them differently. Froslass thought about the possible well-toned body hidden behind his jacket, how his powerful arms could move around all the heavy snow, and the warmth of his body. How his fingers rested tenderly on her face, sending a feeling of soothing warmth throughout her body for as long as they lay. How his fingers would slowly trail down her chin and onto her silky dress, and soon go lower, and lower, until-

Her fantasies were shattered by an abrupt and alien sound off into the distance. One that initially sounded threatening, but one harmless enough to further investigate. Froslass diverted to the side and went towards it, flanking it, to avoid being spotted just like she did with her first encounter with Mason. The noise grew louder and louder until she could make out a bright blue machine being ridden by a different human coming forward into the woods. Froslass also found Mason and two other humans walking alongside the tractor, scouting the area for something. She wondered if they were looking for her, to poach and capture, as if Mason and backstabbed her, or if not what in Arceus's name would a group of humans be doing here. Froslass could barely make out Mason turning his head and nearly finding Froslass hidden amongst the snowy wood, and in an instant hid behind a tree out of fear. Mason looked in the general direction of where Froslass was spying, but did not actually see her in full, thinking it was just more snow; after a while he thought it all looked the same in his mind.

"Over there." Mason said as he pointed to the vague area Froslass was, directing the large tractor to the right onto a different path. Froslass shuddered, and carefully darted behind another set of trees, wanting to observe but remain hidden. Another few seconds had passed before she heard another human call out,

"Let's go over there!" cried out by Neil, pointed to a sharper right angle to change course for the tractor. Periodically did the tractor of posse of humans change direction for a long time, all the while Froslass had carefully stalked. As more time had passed, the more her questions flared up on what exactly was going to happen; if they were here to do good or bad. Mason and his cousins were beginning to get tired of searching for the perfect tree to hack down; most of the surrounding ones weren't exactly bad, but out of the seemingly countless ones in these woods, there had to be one with an immensely high potential. At long last, the one they were looking for was made apparent, as Mason caught a glimpse of Froslass farther off to the left of his line of sight, and from that diversion, a unique tree behind her that wasn't like the others around them.

"Hey, I think I found something!" Mason inquired, forgetting about Froslass for the time being as the pack took a left and ventured forth, until the tree that was in Mason's thoughts was made clear to the rest of them. It was a stout and tall tree standing about eighty feet tall with many gnarled branches from the top, forming a sort of "web" that different from the rest. The trunk was at least two feet in diameter, which gave off the impression that this tree could fuel a large house for a long month at the very least. Its bark looked rigid and grooved with a slightly softened texture, one that could be peeled away easily. Some of its awesome branches seemed to droop from the weight of the winter snow, making it look like it could reach down and scoop up unsuspecting Pokémon or tree-fellers. It was the perfect tree to take down; no other tree could rightfully be in its place at the heart of the woods.

"Now, what about this one? Is this one okay?" said Mason to his grandfather, who was studying the tree. His grandfather came to a few conclusions about it.

"This is almost certainly a type of tree known as black walnut. The thick of its wood has a black or dark brownish coloring; a filling if you will. But, if we do chop it down, we shouldn't use it has firewood. These types of trees are quite rare in Sinnoh, but I know of a friend who will pay full price for this kind of wood to make into furniture. I can supply him with wood of this tree and share the pay amongst you. If we do cut it down, we'll have to do some extra work; a tree of this size will need some space to fall."

Mason and his cousins listened, and started to wonder if it was the right call to chop down this tree. The bigger the better was true, but it seemed to be an impossible challenge. But, if it was chopped down, the payout and benefits would be incomparable to other trees. After much debate, they had reached a conclusion: hack it down, and don't leave until the job's done.

With agreement, the boys took their tools and devised a plan to bring it down in the most efficient way possible. First, the angle they would attack from. With some surveillance, they noted the area that they were in was open, barring a few skinny trees to the sides and infront of them with diameters no greater than six inches. The first step would be to clear them out to make a wide enough space for the tree to fall down cleanly and without collateral damage to the rest of the forest. Daniel and Neil focused down the more skinner ones, knocking them down with just a few chops as Mason sliced the thicker ones. As fun as it was to pit steel against wood, it was surprisingly tiring for them. After about ten minutes of "warm-up" hacking, all potentially crowding trees were knocked down and brushed aside.

"Are we just going to leave these here?" Daniel asked, as he didn't want to potentially waste any resources as he carefully cleaned his axe blade of loose snow and wood chippings.

"We can come back for them later in the day, but just focus on that black walnut tree." His grandfather insisted. With space freed up, the next task was to get what they came for; the black walnut. Another brainstorming session was hatched in order to figure out the best course of action for taking on the black walnut tree. The grandfather stepped in with a suggestion.

"Try to make an inch-deep dent or so all around the base of the tree," he suggested, "that way the tree can fall easier when you cut deep enough in." He drove the tractor around the side of the black walnut tree where it wouldn't fall and instructed Mason to make the starting cuts around the tree. Mason carefully circled the tree, gliding the chainsaw across to make the cuts the appropriate measure. In time an exposed ring of wood was made at the base of the tree, something small but significant enough to please Mason himself. With the initial ring carved out, now was the time to tackle and fell it with man power.

"Mason, just cut in from behind, and make sure you cut it equally. Daniel and Neil, help Mason by making more room for him; cut down more trees behind him and cut into the black walnut if you can." Instructed their grandfather, who was watching over them in case of something going awry. With a plan underway, Mason was slowly slicing inside the tree at a steady pace as he got some more space to move around in from his cousins felling trees behind him. This was surprisingly easy, Mason thought.

That was, until about a third of the way through, Mason suddenly felt drained of energy. He felt sleepy and found his chainsaw heavier than normal, causing sloppier cuts and more wood shavings to fly into face, bouncing off from his goggles thankfully. A sudden realization hit him; he didn't fully recover from earlier! Now with the morning's chore of shoveling snow coming back to haunt him, Mason found it troubling to keep making balanced cuts and slicing through the tree, as well as his body temperature rising higher than normal. Mason knew he was hot-blooded in the physical sense; he could always keep himself warm even during the winter, to the point of him taking off clothes. However, he knew that he would never hear the end of it from his grandfather about the health risks the cold would impose on those insufficiently clothed, and decided to keep on rolling with it.

"Mason, you're looking a little red. You sure you're all right?" said a worried Neil, looking over his shoulder to see Mason struggling to keep on cutting. Mason stopped his sawing temporarily to address himself.

"Yeah, but I need some help here. Lend me a hand, please." Requested Mason as he withdrew the chainsaw from the bowels of the great black walnut tree and powered it off to conserve its fuel. Daniel and Neil pitched in with their own axes to have a go at the black walnut tree, each swinging periodically with great force while Mason recovered. Each swung their axe periodically, alternating with each other to avoid a cramped situation with dangerous blades. They went at it, until they too were running out of steam. By this point, the tree was almost in timber range; just an inch more or two until gravity could do the rest.

"Ah, we need to rest up. Are you feeling any better? You could probably finish it," asked Neil, huffing and puffing with Daniel. "We've gotten this far, no sense in turning back now." Mason felt a little better from his break, but still wasn't in ideal condition. With a deep breath he revved up the chainsaw again and was determined to finish what was started.

"Let's end this." He said with spirit as he resumed slicing into the tree just like he had previously. Another few moments later, he pulled away as he heard the distinct sound of a tree falling. At once the mighty black walnut tree leaned on its front side, complete with the sound of bark snapping, as it tumbled forward and crashed down to earth; it had been finally brought down. Mason and his cousins watched it fall down and got their first clear look inside a black walnut tree. Almost the entire circumference of the tree's interior was a rich chocolate color, somewhat resembling toffee candy when compared to the surrounding lighter wood. This was a quality black walnut tree without a doubt. All was left was to transport the fallen tree out of the forest.


	4. Chapter Four: Consequences

All of this was being spectated by the Froslass, still hiding off in the distance, looking in awe as she saw a group of three humans work together to bring down that massive tree. Not just any black walnut tree; in fact, the only one in the forest and the only in nearby within dozens of miles. Unbeknownst to her, it was of extremely high value, and failed to see the significance of the wood that the humans had sought for. As she scanned the environment, she noticed the large wagon on the end of the tractor; putting two and two together she figured that they would try to put the fallen tree on the wagon and haul it out. But with a tree that size, how could it be done? Both parties were worried about this until the oldest one, Mason's grandfather, spoke up with a solution.

"We'll have to cut it down to smaller logs and chain them down to move it out of here. The wagon's big enough and it'll hold nicely. Do this and we're done here." Said Mason's grandfather. Mason sighed, not being in any mood to cut more wood and longing for a nap, but he knew that he and his cousins would be done for the day if they could finish the job. Even though it was still rather early, night time came a lot faster in winter in Sinnoh than in any other season or region. If they didn't move too fast, they would be lacking in visibility, and that could easily spell trouble if a hungry Pokémon had begun to go hunting in the darkness when they were out of energy…

With obedient nods, the crew started to cut into the fallen black walnut tree and make sizeable logs out of it. Mason tackled the thick base of the fallen tree while Daniel and Neil worked with the outward most branches with their own axes. Both boys made a very fine and quick work of their own end of the work save for the thickest branches, as Mason had finally finished cutting his part of the tree. Getting fed up with sweating inside his jacket; Mason briefly laid the chainsaw down and finally unzipped his jacket threw it to the ground, with only a red and grey sweater and undershirt shielding his torso. His body temperature could keep him at a healthy point for a long time; Mason was quite used to the cold, but always wore a jacket in case of sudden, chilling winds as well as to avoid nagging by his superiors about the risks of catching a cold.

"Mason, what are you doing? Put your coat back on right now!" ordered his grandfather, whom Mason ignored for the time being. A minute had passed until his grandfather repeated himself with a more booming voice.

"Put on your coat right now!" he ordered to Mason again, this time invoking a reaction.

"No. I'm burning up inside, I'm taking it off so I can work without overheating. Even if it's due to all the other stuff underneath, I'm amending it right now. I've been through this before; I'm no stranger to the cold here, grandpa." Mason replied with some shades of resent as he lifted up his goggles to wipe his face. "Trust me, I'll be okay. If you were in my shoes you would probably do the exact same thing. The only thing I'm concerned is finishing up this job and getting home, and if getting more comfortable will make it go by faster, I ain't gonna pass it up." Mason's grandfather was silenced in response, still angry and worried for Mason's health, but stunned at his persistent words. Perhaps Mason would be fine, he thought, at least until the job was done. Froslass to noted the speech Mason gave off and gazed at the thought of such a human being so persistent.

Now working with just his sweater and undershirt on, Mason made several more hunks of wood out of the base while Daniel and Neil continued their chopping job on the branches, each reducing the tree to feasible sized parts to load onto the wagon for hauling. Despite being worn out, they continued working with all their strength, making surprising amounts of progress. Mason felt relieved and even perked up, as he felt his chest lighten up from not being underneath his jacket. The thought of ending with a good night's sleep after an honest day's work inspired him to keep the saw going, slicing into the wood, scattering wooden shrapnel everywhere, and to not stop until they could cut the black walnut tree down into the required pieces. Eventually, the base of the tree was finished so Mason could move on to helping his cousins whittle down the branches. At least half an hour had passed of hard work until at last; the tree was divided up into numerable, movable logs. One last step was all that was left before the crew could finally go home and rest up; getting them onto the tractor. Mason, Daniel, and Neil had officially taken a small break to catch their breath before moving on to heavy lefting. Their grandfather turned the tractor around to make the wagon face the lumber pile, as to reduce the distance they would have to go.

"Load up the longer pieces first to make a better base. Don't worry about them falling off when we go back, the cage can hold them. When you run out of space make a new pile. I'll help you for this. And Mason, put your coat on now. I don't want you to get sick; you've had it off long enough." Mason's grandfather explained as he hopped off the wagon and went to join the boys in the final step of the job. Mason, Neil, and Daniel laid their tools down at the base of a neighboring tree as Mason dusted off his jacket and rested for a little while longer. After their break had past, each one took deep breaths and squatted to lift up a piece of the precious lumber at the count of three. With all of their might they lifted the wood up and shoved it onto the wagon, pushing it deep to stop it from falling or slipping. This process was repeated again and again, with a minute of peace in between to muster up enough strength.

Mason especially felt the effects of the hauling, as halfway through his temperatures were catching up. Again Mason felt uncomfortably hot inside his own jacket, roasting in spite of the bitter weather, and felt as if his energy was being stolen from the environment. They crew had to take more time consuming breaks so Mason could catch up. All the while the sun was going down; it was nearly five o' clock, right around this time night was dawning.

Still fueled with the ambition of good payment and good sleep, the crew had managed to load up the very last piece of black walnut lumber onto the wagon, overwhelming the odds. All of them were panting heavily and shaking arms at the end. The gang locked up the hatch on the wagon to stop any lumber and spilling during the trip back home, meditating on what they had accomplished. A team four; an old man accompanied with three younger men had brought down one of the most awe-inspiring trees in the woods in only a few hours. All ample sized pieces of lumber had been successfully loaded onto the wagon, barring a few notably sized branches that do not have enough worth of their own, whether to join the wagon or to join a crafter's hobby.

"This had better be worth it, grandpa!" an infuriated and Mason huffed as he picked up the chainsaw from the ground, feeling at least twice as heavy from before and making his body hotter with even more work carrying it as he returned to the tractor. Daniel and Neil followed suit grabbing their own heavy axes covered in snow and wet wood shavings, sharing Mason's feelings albeit silently. "Can we finally go home?"

"Yes." Humbly answered Mason's grandfather as he powered up the tractor and made a course back to civilization. "You all did extremely well, I'm proud for all of you. Now we can kick back and relax for the evening." The boys banded together on the left end of the tractor as it slowly drove out of the forest with its woody payload and a hard day's work. Froslass had watched every moment of the epic task unfold, feeling entertained and saddened. All of the pangs of pain, exhaustion, and disgust on his face and worried Froslass gravely. She wanted to go and comfort Mason, but was worried about the other three. Froslass had only met with Mason, and feared for what the other humans would do to her.

'But, were they not like Mason?" Froslass thought silently. She swallowed and made up her mind as she floated over to the tractor, wanting to get a closer look at the lumberjacks that took down such a challenging tree. She had approached them from their left side as she went ahead of Mason, causing the whole posse to stop. Mason had his spirits partially lifted at seeing Froslass, even amidst the very last and weakest hour of daylight. Daniel and Neil's interest were heightened at first sight of the Froslass, as their grandfather stopped the wagon.

"Oh, hello again Froslass." Said Mason, who was trying to sound friendly as he gave off a weak smile to the ice-type Pokémon, still trying to conserve what little energy he had left for lugging the chainsaw. "I guess now's a good of a time as any to introduce my cousins. Here's Daniel, and here's Neil. Up there is my grandpa who drives the tractor. This is a tractor, by the way." The other humans were had their doubts about the wild Pokémon.

"Do you know this Pokémon?" asked Mason's grandfather. "Yeah, do you? It seems friendly for a stray at least." Questioned Neil. "Is it yours and you just didn't tell us?" Questioned Daniel.

All of them had their suspicions about the Froslass who was intimidated by all of the attention. She looked down at the snow with her hand on her mouth, trying to think of a way to coax them into believing she wasn't a threat. Then, a wily idea popped into her head. A risky one, but one that she would have to do none the less to gain their trust. Froslass took a deep breathe, and with caution, exhorted a heavily restrained Blizzard attack, making it feel little more than an Icy Wind. The chilling breeze swept over the tired gang who winced in response, but felt incredibly soothed. The brisk breath of the Froslass seemed to breathe in comfort and vigor to the boys, especially Mason. After the attacked had settled, all of them felt incredibly relaxed and comfortably chilled; Mason's own body reaching a perfect temperature.

"That was amazing!" Said a thrilled Mason who was now at ease. Daniel and Neil didn't feel as relaxed as Mason was and still felt somewhat skeptical but were thrilled to receive such an act of kindness, let alone from a stray, wild Pokémon.

"Well, well." Mason's grandfather said happily as he donned a smile. "Looks like you've made a new friend. She isn't too bad." Froslass smiled as she brushed her free arm against Mason's cheek as appreciation, feeling warmer than she remembered. Mason embraced it shortly before turning his face away to break contact.

"Thank you for this, Froslass. We really should get going though." Stated Mason, who wanted to do nothing else but help him to a big plate of Tauros Gardens and watch the remaining VHS tapes followed by sleep. "Let's go."

His grandfather stepped on the gas again to make the tractor move. Froslass stood there, partially dejected, but respecting Mason's intentions. It was getting dark anyway, even though it was lighter thanks to all of the snow, Mason had to be somewhere else. Mason turned back and smiled at Froslass before going forward out of sight with the tractor. Froslass nodded as she went her own way and returned to the thick of the woods.

Back at the farm house, Mason and his cousins returned the tools and goggles, before going back into the house and helping each other from the big pot of meat. Each took in a plate of the food into the living room where they were ready to finish watching the bag of old tapes containing mostly old comedy sketches.

"I think that Froslass really likes you." Neil said to Mason, trying to spark a conversation.

"I figured that much," Mason said while shoving his face with the savory meat dish. "but, what other Pokémon do you know of that would do something like that to humans? Most wild Pokémon are usually skittish and hostile towards humans, it's just so rare seeing one give us a chance."

"Have you encountered that Froslass beforehand?" questioned Daniel.

"Nope. Never saw one around here before anyway. Do you think it's something else, like a sign?" Mason said, denying the fact he really did like her and that he met her previously. The others seemed to bite the bait and believe him.

"Possibly." Answered Mason's grandfather. "But, whatever the case… we'll arrange a deal with my friend about the black walnut lumber. Like I said, it's very valuable in these parts. Each of you can expect at least a thousand Pokédollars or so each. You all deserve it."

"Hmmm, even more, possibly?" said Neil. "We worked our asses off today, we better get a good pay."

"I'd hold my breath on that one." Retorted Mason, who had scarfed down his plate of food and was settling in. The gang watched several more comedy tapes before calling it quits and going to sleep, each dreaming happily.

Froslass had returned with mirth to her meeting spot. Her friends seemed to be waiting for her, as if they had their own great news to share. Froslass approached and was ready to tell them all about the things Mason and his cousins did today, when the Abomasnow spoke out in an intimidating, booming voice.

"Do you know what you have done!?" he questioned ferociously, almost as if he was speaking fire directly to her. "Do you know the doom you have wrought upon us!?" Froslass replied with a scared and confused "no" as she wondered what had gotten him so riled up.

"Those humans have cut down the most sacred tree in these woods! Did you honestly not know of this!?" Abomasnow bellowed with supreme rage. Froslass quickly remembered the tree that was chopped down, the one that had given Mason such a hard time. As soon as she realized what the Abomasnow was referring to, Glaceon had brought his own insights to the conversation.

"It's because of you! You lead them to it! You just had to go off, like you did yesterday, and go and mess with humans! Now you lead a bunch of them into our woods and cut down the most scared tree of them all! How could you do this to us?" Froslass was troubled at all of the hostility and tried to clear herself.

"W-What do you mean? Just because they cut down one tree? Is that why you're so mad? Those humans didn't even see me!" The Abomasnow felt even more offended as he stepped in once more.

"No, they did. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been lured to that tree." Answered the Abomasnow who now confirmed the fact that he and the Glaceon watched the humans chop down the black walnut tree earlier in the day and hauling it out of the woods with the tractor as well." Have you forgotten the significance of that tree? Long ago, in the beginning, when Arceus had created the landscapes, he had created a blessed and holy totem of each land to protect it from evil. The one that the humans have cut down was no different. Arceus himself had taken all of the sin, chaos, and evil that had blighted these lands and sealed it within that mighty tree, hence the dark coloring inside it. Arceus had blessed it with his divine grace to ward off all future evil and destruction, but He knew that all trees eventually fall and end their life. That is why he had the tree bear the nuts to fall and delve into the soil, to sprout anew and create another protective totem. That new totem would eventually bear its own fruits and deposit its own nuts, and repeating, all to stave off all evils for eternity."

"And? " Froslass said weakly, almost too afraid to speak up. "But now with it cut down before any of its new nuts had been planted, " Abomasnow continued, "all of the heinous energies have escaped, and with them uncontained, they are free to reap whatever havoc they ever so desire. Even I cannot tell what evils will be brought upon this land now because of your actions. I confess, deep down, that I believed studying these humans was a bad idea, but I gave you doubt. Doubt that I foolishly gave you and can never forgive myself for. Doubt was the biggest mistake ever brought upon here, and soon we all shall perish without Arceus's protection!" The Froslass felt her heart burst into a thousand pieces. The thought of endangering her home and her friends, all because of her interest in humans, hung on her shoulders, a so burden inconceivably large. She had questioned herself on all of the actions involved with humans and wondered if her she was all in the wrong. Froslass could hardly be any more shattered and in pain from hearing this wretched nightmare.

"B-But…" Froslass tried to speak up, only to be cut off as Glaceon stood up and slowly approached Froslass, almost trying to corner her until he spoke out again.

"I knew right from the start that humans were trouble. We told you again and again that they offer nothing good. But no, you never learn. You fail to understand something, even when broken down into the most basic form. You just want to cause trouble and cause us to perish, don't you, huh? That's all you do. Nothing ever good had come from your dealings with these humans. Nothing. What happened today proves exactly that. And if you love them that much, just go and live with them, see how fun it is. Apparently you don't need us, so we don't need you!"

"Agreed. At the earliest light of next dawn, you are no longer welcomed here. If you stay, we will not show you hospitality, we will not give you any reception. We will not acknowledge your existence, we will not care for you. We will not further convene with traitors who wish to see us wither under evil and suffering. You are dead to us." Said the Abomasnow as he and the Glaceon turned their backs and walked away. Froslass felt cold tears swell up as her whole body was wrapped in a suffocating melancholy, being evicted by her only Poké-companions. She covered her face as she cried loudly and dashed as far away as possible until she had no more energy left and settled down to sleep in a barren, isolated part of the woods, filling the winter night sky with wails of utmost sorrow.


	5. Chapter Five: Reaching Out

The long night had passed as Mason woke up from a pleasant slumber, hardly budging in his bed. He found the strength to finally bring himself up and out, albeit still drowsy. Mason noticed that the other two beds in the room where vacant, and Mason wondered if he slept in for too long or his cousins got up earlier than he did, getting into a similar groove. Mason headed downstairs and saw Daniel and Neil finishing off their plate of Tauros Gardens just as Mason came down.

"Hey now, what did I miss?" Asked Mason.

"Slept in a little too good." Answered Neil. Mason's grandfather got out his jacket and began to zip it up as he started to explain today's plans.

"It's a quarter after eleven, but with all the work you did yesterday, it isn't a surprise. Mason, I'm sorry for putting you through all that work, even though you pulled it off. I'm still amazed that you managed to do so. But, right now, we are going to deliver the black walnut lumber to my friend, whom I've already organized a deal with. Daniel and Neil are coming with me, and won't be back home for a while. You may take this day off and do whatever you want as you rest." Mason's grandpa spelt out.

"Thanks. But, how much money did you negotiate? I mean, you don't want to bleed someone dry over wood, right?" Mason inquired as he sat down and stretched.

"I want to make it a surprise, but let's just say a lot." said Mason's grandfather as Daniel and Neil went to grab their own winter gear and approach the door. "We need get going anyway, come on boys!" Mason's cousins and his grandfather exited the house and went to the pickup truck, with the large enclosed wagon of lumber hitched behind it. Daniel and Neil climbed on top of the lumber pile, feeling brave, and hung onto the cage as tightly as possible. As the pickup truck started, Mason got up and waved the gang good bye for the time being. Only a few moments later, the truck and wagon disappeared amongst the veil of trees lining the road. Mason was now alone; free to do whatever he pleased as he recovered from yesterday. He made himself a thick sandwich out of the contents in the fridge to silence his grumbling stomach as he thought of what he could do to kill time for however long it took for his cousins and grandfather to organize a deal with the wood. Smiling to himself, he thought about Froslass immediately, and how he could officially spend some more time with her.

Finishing up the last bites, he went back upstairs and changed into more standard clothes before donning his winter gear and drinking a tall glass of water to make sure he could stay outside for a long time. He could only think of all the games he could play with her and tell her all about the day and the struggles he had. Away Mason went into the snowy wilderness, under the overcast sky, as he went to find the Poké-friend he had only known for a few days, but felt like he had known for a life-time. Mason followed the tractor tracks in the snow right back to the place where the black walnut tree was, thinking that it was a good of a place as any to look.

Eventually Mason had made it to the site of the fallen black walnut tree where all that was left were a few branches and a memorable stump. Mason inspected the stump and took notice of the distinct black coloring in it, just like the main lumber. Mason sat down, feeling the cold, cut tree stump underneath him to concentrate further. How pretty he thought, for such a tree to exist. And for said tree to be harvested by his hands to be sold for payment, for the wood to be used in however the buyer would please. How Mason had struggled and strained to keep cutting through it from shoveling snow earlier and how rewarding such actions had felt. Mason silently thought about yesterday's labors for some time until he looked up and saw Froslass wandering aimlessly through the woods, lighting up his heart.

"Hey! Froslass!" Mason called out cheerfully to the Pokémon, who noted him with a glum, seemingly haunting cock of her head. Froslass hung her head and sighed to herself silently as she floated over towards Mason, still lamenting over the accusations and heinous words thrown at her from last night, unbeknownst to Mason. Mason was startled by seeing Froslass so troubled and sad; atypical of her. He couldn't help but feel his joy drain away as his own stomach churned in dismay upon seeing such a pitiful sight of Froslass looking so depressed. What mysterious force was troubling Froslass was also troubling Mason as well.

"Froslass? What's wrong? You don't look too well…" Mason asked the Froslass. Froslass gave no answer as she still hung her head infront of Mason silently.

"Is it about the tree?" said Mason as he got up anxiously from the stump. Still the Froslass refused to give a reply. Internally, she felt her own emotions heighten back to last night's atrocious incident again. Mason wanted to figure out what exactly was causing so much stress to Froslass.

"I'm getting worried about you now. What is troubling you so much that you refuse to even look at me?" said Mason, unintentionally causing tears to swell up in Froslass's eyes. No more could Froslass bottle up her feelings as she violently whipped around with a distressed moan and lowered herself to the snowy ground to draw in the snow with her fingers. Mason, startled at the sudden act, approached Froslass's side and knelt beside her, watching her carve out images on the snow. Froslass was definitely intelligent enough to understand human speech but was not able to speak it herself. But she did have a way of communicating; drawing in the snow.

Froslass etched out a vague image of a big tree, a canine, and a small angel, symbolizing her friends.

"Hmmm… so this would be you, and… a Glaceon? In these parts at least, and that looks like an Abomasnow…" Mason said aloud, Froslass nodding in confirmation. Froslass made a straight line connecting this scene to the next; she then drew another "angel" in the snow with a stick figure, Mason realizing that this was him and her together. Starting fresh below, she drew a much larger tree with many branches and four stick figures and a vehicle of sorts.

"That's the black walnut tree, and that's me with my family members cutting it down…" Mason studied, as Froslass erased the giant tree in the snow and made a connecting line from the black walnut picture to the first image. With attention at the first drawing again, she then erased the small angel and made another line back to the second image of her with Mason and circled it, symbolizing exactly what had happened afterwards.

"And because it got cut down, your friends got angry and banished you, and now they don't even want to see you again?" Mason asked as he pieced it all together. Froslass nodded firmly with tears still in her eyes as Mason understood exactly what had happened. He got back onto his feet and frowned, feeling deflated as she did.

"That's, rough…" Mason couldn't help but feel his very own small tears bubble up in his eyes. Mason sat down back on the stump, now realizing how stressful this had to be for her, to be evicted from her friends and home, and to have nowhere else to go. Taking pity, he opened his arms and silently invited Froslass to join with her. Froslass floated over slowly and felt herself be embraced by the only companion she had now, burying herself into his chest, sobbing silently.

"There there, girl, I understand. I'm sorry for what you had to go through, and I feel sorry for cutting down that tree. I didn't know cutting it down would cause you to be banished. I know it isn't your fault, it's mine." Mason said tenderly to the Froslass in his arms, wetting his jacket with salty tears. Froslass felt much better after hearing his words and being able in at least taking solace in the fact that she wasn't to blame. She felt relieved and at peace being so tight to Mason, feeling the warmth radiate through his clothes and into her body. Froslass stopped crying as she looked up innocently at Mason, who smiled down at her as he relinquished his grip. He took another look at the drawings Froslass made in the snow, studying the last detail made. Froslass and Mason with a circle around it.

"And you have nowhere to go, but to me…" he pondered, and contemplated the thought of taking her in. "You know what…"

In the midst of his thoughts he scrambled madly for something in his jacket. Running his hands across all pockets, he tried ever so desperately to find a memento of arguably his greatest moment in his Pokémon career; a Premier Ball, won from a Pokémon battle tournament from his Machamp. It was several years ago but he had always kept it in his winter jacket for good luck and as a constant reminder of his fortune. Whether by fate or luck, he managed to run his hand over a spherical lump in his jacket, as he found the pocket which held the Premier Ball. Mason reached in and grabbed it; showing it directly to Froslass, who taken aghast by it.

"I worked hard for this a long time ago, and how gracious that I still have it. If you have no other place to go, then come with me." Mason reasoned to Froslass, who was scared of the Premier Ball. She remembered all the things that Glaceon rambled on about concerning humans and the mysterious balls. How they would force you inside and steal you away without any way to fight back. Froslass also wagered that she had absolutely zero reason to not trust Mason, the human she had taken a liking to. After hearing her story why would he have a change of heart? Even then, could being inside one of those spheres be that bad?

"It isn't bad at all. With this, you can officially be part of my team, and you'll have a new home. Plus, you can see entire new worlds when the winter ends when I travel. Will you do it, for me?" begged Mason.

Froslass wagered the odds very carefully and at last made up her mind. She closed her eyes and slightly lowered her head in acceptance, as Mason hesitantly pressed the ball to her forehead, transmuting her into pure energy as she was absorbed into the ball. Mason dropped it onto the cushioning snow and watched it twitch on its own for several seconds, before subsiding. Froslass had officially, and willingly, been captured. Mason smiled to himself as he picked up the Premier Ball and brushed off the snow, pressing it towards his heart.

"I knew you would," Mason said quietly to himself as he clutched it in his fist and continued walking throughout the forest, giving her time to be accustomed to her new home. Together, but alone did Mason and Froslass go on a stroll through the woods. About ten minutes later when Mason came to another clearing he sent out Froslass from the ball, which by now all of her negativity had been purged away. She turned and face Mason with her smile that she wore when she met him in the past.

"Glad to see that you've cheered up. You'll always have me, that's for sure. And, while you're out here again, wanna play?" Mason asked Froslass. She couldn't be more eager as she kicked up a stream of loose snow off the ground with a few upward arm gestures; not actually physically touching it. Once she had enough snow conjured up from the ground, she moved both of her arms to the right, causing the frigid mass of air and snow to wrap around Mason, chilling him with the comforting cold. Mason closed his eyes and breathed in the crisp air as it circled around him, a token of affection from his newly acquired Pokémon. Being able to do things like this wasn't far off from the territory of being a ghost-type and all. Eventually the snow coil dissipated as Mason wanted to find out what more Froslass could do with snow.

"What else could you do?" asked Mason as Froslass began another show for her human friend. Moving only her fingers, Froslass animated a slow trickle of snow from the ground to pool in her hand. As it grew and grew, she made use of her other arm to draw in more loose snow and contain it, the icy ball ever swelling up so much. When it was at an appropriate size, she cast it up into the air, causing it to burst into a beautiful display of snowfall, complete with another breeze of frigid air to chill Mason. He loved every bit of it, all of the wonders she could do with all of the snow nearby. Caught up in the mood, Froslass floated right up to Mason's face, blushing slightly. As Mason wondered what she was doing, Froslass made a snap decision, exhaling deeply and wrapping her arms around Mason's neck while smiling.

"Uh, what are you-"Mason was cut off as his lips met with Froslass's, feeling the coldness of her mouth and the surrounding air. Mason closed his eyes and hugged Froslass tightly as their tongues explored each other's mouths, both passionately kissing in the forest, having no qualms over their biological differences. Froslass hugged Mason tighter and tighter, getting more and more wrapped in the heat of the moment, until Mason came to his senses at last, and pulled away Froslass, realizing what they were doing. Froslass had an embarrassed look on her face with a slightly more potent blush underneath her mask as Mason looked on. Both dared not to speak for several minutes.

"Froslass…" said Mason, breaking the awkward silence. "I don't blame you." Admitting that he did enjoy kissing her, all of this was coming too fast. He turned around, making a path back to the house. Mason pocketed the Pokéball and beckoned her to follow silently as Mason had a plan in stored for her. Froslass followed, still blushing, directly behind Mason as the two went back to the farm house.

Back at the house, Mason kicked off all of the snow on his boots and went inside, holding the door for Froslass who glided right in. She gazed in awe of the house, never being inside one before. It felt so warm from the furnace and felt surprisingly comfortable; Froslass could take a long tranquil nap here. Mason took off the rest of his gear and deposited it in the kitchen closet, soon grabbing a plate and checking the pot on the stove. To his delight, he found two last Tauros Gardens, still warm. Mason scooped them onto his plate and sat the plate down on the table, grabbing himself a cloth and fork to eat with. Froslass eyeballed the curious food item, taking in a deep breath, smelling the intoxicating aroma of cooked food. Froslass's stomach grumbled hungrily at the scent to remind her that she hadn't eaten anything all day from depression. As Mason sat down to have his meal, Froslass hovered nearby with great curiosity and hunger.

"Want to try some?" Mason offered as he cut a small piece of the meat with his fork and stabbed it, then holding it up towards Froslass. Froslass placed her mouth around it and bit it off the fork, chewing it slowly. Only after a few bites did her taste buds light up in ecstasy as she began chewing the small food portion quicker, savoring the unique, meaty taste. Soon she swallowed it whole and felt her stomach warm up at the sensation of taking it in. Mason couldn't help but adore Froslass as she tasted meat for the first time, having primarily sustaining on the wild, juicy berries that grew even during the winter. He cut up one of the Tauros Gardens into pieces perfect for Froslass as he fed it to her. Froslass craved more of it and devoured each piece with mirth.

"Tastes good, doesn't it? I love it as well, and you can see why." Mason said as he started to eat his own helping of the Tauros Garden, while Froslass was savoring as much of the juicy meat as possible. Soon enough the plate was cleaned as Froslass felt satisfied and full, even one Tauros Garden is quite large and offers quite the meal to Pokémon like her. As Mason put the plate and fork into the sink to be washed later, he turned around and smiled at her.

"And just so you know, Froslass, we're alone here. Just the two of us. I didn't really think that you would "like" me in that sense but I'm inclined to agree with you." Convened Mason as he ventured up the stairs.

"And you've been an amazing friend to me, Froslass. After what you've been through, there is no better way to make it up then, well, getting a bit more happy and intimate. I could tell from before you wanted it. Come." Mason beckoned Froslass to follow him up the shadowy stairs. With a fluttering heart, Froslass floated up the stairs with Mason as both entered the room where Mason and his cousins slept undisturbed.


	6. Chapter Six: Bonding

Froslass and Mason went up the stairs into the room that Mason and his cousins slept. It was dark and cozy, almost like a dream to Froslass. As Froslass observed the room around her, Mason sauntered over to his bed and made it neat again, to prepare what he had in mind. Mason sat on the bed's edge, took a deep breath, and called to Froslass, driving her towards him. There could hardly be any better scenarios for this to unfold; the time has come. Froslass floated in front of Mason and was grasped at her hips by his hands. Both wanted it as much as each other as they held each other like they were made of brittle glass. Mason felt her silky kimono in his hands again, pulling her closer into another love-filled kiss, this time in a more suitable environment. Both got so wrapped up in it that Mason fell backwards deeper onto the bed as he swung his legs around, making him lay on his back as he kissed Froslass passionately.

Once more did their tongues explore each other's mouths to exchange love and true feelings for one another. Mason didn't care if she was a Pokémon or if others thought this was taboo; they had found each other as friends, and soon, more than friends as they explored each other physically. Still kissing, Mason slowly traced his right hand down Froslass's hip down to her groin, pressing her dress and his fingers against her most sacred openings. Froslass winced in pleasure as she broke the kissing and looked down at Mason's hand like she had imagined during a lewd thought yesterday. Mason swallowed and slowly traced her fingers just above her clitoris, Froslass squinting and making barely audible moans, growing louder and louder in her marvelous voice.

Mason continued rubbing Froslass much to her delight, until Froslass suddenly broke away briefly, and grabbed the base of her dress. Froslass slowly lifted it up to reveal her naked, startling human-like body with two stubby "legs" and flat chest, hosting two lighter purple nipples. Froslass silently egged on Mason with lust filled nods and eyes to keep touching her in that special location as she descended back to Mason's grasp. Mason happily obliged and continued to trace and pinch the tiny mound of flesh she had sported, causing Froslass to grin and moan discretely under her mask from all of the touching. Froslass couldn't hold out much longer as her body began to prime itself for orgasm, feeling a buildup of sorts, soon releasing a stream of clear fluid onto Mason's chest accompanied with a blissful moan. Mason stopped his rubbing to give Froslass time to recover, ignoring the stains on his shirt from her orgasm. Mason took solace in seeing Froslass so happy he undid his fly to release his erect penis from his pants, filling the air with the arousing scent of pre-cum.

Once Froslass had recovered, she noticed Mason's freed penis, roughly ten inches or so, and was compelled to take a close look. Froslass prodded at it gently with her fingers, followed by cupping it, feeling its girth and firmness entirely; rubbing it up and down for several sessions. Froslass stopped her hand motions and wanted to experiment with it in a different way as the scent of pre-cum built in the air. Mason shifted his legs to dangle off the bed to give him and Froslass a better position as Froslass floated over to Mason's crotch and slowly lapped at his cock with a velvety and moistened tongue.

Mason gripped the bed sheets as he felt her tongue glide across his cock and felt it being bathed by a soothing coat of saliva and flesh. Froslass loved the salty taste she gathered with each lick; reminding her of the succulent meal she ate earlier and desired to have more of it. Froslass gripped his shaft and slowly enveloped its head into her mouth, larger than expected, as she suckled on it, acquiring a more acute taste of his manhood. Little by little Froslass added more of his cock into her mouth up to half of it to suckle on and bathe with her tongue, seeming to be more than happy to do this for the human she had accepted. Froslass continued to carefully suck off Mason, wanting to please him as he had to her. A minute had passed of oral sex before Mason cupped her head delicately and slowly pulled her back, freeing up his penis which was now glazed in a sticky, somewhat shiny coating of saliva. Froslass made a quiet and reluctant whine but was obedient enough to comply.

"How long we have suffered without each other…" Mason said quietly to her deep while gazing into her beautiful blue eyes; swinging his legs back to the base of the bed while still sitting upright, clutching her head and lightweight frame. He turned her around so she was facing away from Mason as she was gently lowered onto his wet shaft and rubbed up and down on it; teasing her. Lusting moans escaped from her lips into the surrounding air to tell him just how happy she was together alone. Mason sped up and was torturing Froslass's vulva with the teasing promise of penetration for a short while until he paused and relocated her forward as to make her rest on the tip of his penis; right in-between her two most precious openings.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mason questioned, looking out for her safety. Froslass couldn't be happier as she answered with a coy turn of her head and a modest wink. Mason laughed silently as he got a sturdier grip on her and raised her up marginally, positioning her hindquarters to rest contently on his member. With a cautious motion he lowered Froslass lower onto his penis, slipping it inside her anus, spreading out the tight cavity to introduce it into the wonders of human and Pokémon mating. Froslass gasped at the feeling of being anally penetrated for the first time, let alone by the human whom she had officially now accepted as mate.

Once Mason's penis was fully engulfed and accustomed to Froslass, he began to leisurely raise and lower Froslass on his member, as to draw out all of the joy had with sex for Froslass's own sake. Froslass couldn't believe how marvelous it felt to have inside of her a part of Mason. How tight it felt, and how tighter she wanted it to be, wanting to encapsulate even more of it if possible. She let her arms dangle freely from her own body as she let herself be operated by Mason tenderly and let out audible quips of bliss every time she was brought down on his shaft. Mason's slow pace eventually was raised to a faster, harder pace as he dawned on his own climax inside of Froslass. She felt her body prime itself again to release its own set of sexual fluids as she did not want to stop the feelings of Mason's cock being dragged inside her ass again and again. After but a few minutes of anal sex did Mason tightly hilt her onto himself; trying to drive his penis as deep inside her as possible, before releasing spontaneous bursts of hot semen directly inside Froslass. Her own body was taken over the edge of such an event as she screamed in orgasm for the second time, a much more impactful one, as another stream of clear female juices shot out of her own pussy. They had officially found each other as mates, purest in form.

Breathing hard, Mason reluctantly removed Froslass from his dick, accompanied with a wet "pop" sound as he freed his dick from her anus, dripping cum freely. Froslass was mesmerized by the feeling of having mating, at least anally, for the first time in her life and how exhilarating an experience it was. She let herself stay in Mason's hands as both of them recovered and thought about just how much they loved each other. How the seeds of friendship and trust were first planted in their hearts, and how quickly it sprouted to the marvelous tree of living a simple yet warming sex life over the course of several days.

"You loved it, didn't you? I never had sex either, well, mating if you will, beforehand as well. I never thought I would be doing it with you…" Mason pampered Froslass with affection as Froslass blushed sincerely with her face away from her. Both recovered in delight for roughly ten minutes, giving themselves time to recuperate and have another go at it, and hopefully again and again until they ran out of all possible energy.

At once did Mason finally turn Froslass around to have their faces meet again, to see Froslass smile upwards at him and to be brought closer to him. Once more did the two lovers kiss as Mason gently flipped Froslass around so she would be lying down on her backside on the sheets; Mason's own warm body being pressed against hers. Mason moved his head down from Froslass's mouth onto her nipples, followed by her stomach and then downwards to her clitoris, kissing them all on the way. He was at her vulva, flushed with a cute shade of cherry red from arousal, as he lapped at it much like Froslass did to his penis. Deeper did his tongue venture forth with his hands at her crotch; his fingers gripping for support as his thumbs massaged her clit. Soon his face was buried in her genitals, causing Froslass to place both of her hands on Mason's head in response; gliding her fingers through his thick and dark brown hair. Mason did this for just a minute, as not to completely wear her out with one last thing he wanted to do for her. He raised his body up to look at Froslass after he had lubricated her up. He grabbed her hands and held them tightly as he propped his body up closer, looking down on his sublime Pokémon, who had a playful and innocent smile plastered on her face. Mason poked his newly erected penis at Froslass's vulva before making sure she truly wanted it.

"Are you ready?" Mason asked, to which Froslass replied eagerly with an approving and wanting nod. Froslass closed her eyes as she felt Mason's dickhead slowly slide inside her vagina. It felt incredible; better than when it went in her anus. Her rigid, wanting walls welcoming Mason as more of his penis slipped inside her; until it poked against something. It was her hymen, the mark of a virgin true still. Froslass knew that it would have to be broken in order for more of Mason's cock to enter. Mason knew well of this as he pulled back his penis to make Froslass grit her teeth in preparation of Mason's penis darting forward and breaking the wall of flesh, resulting in a painful squeak by Froslass. Mason didn't venture any further as he left his penis inside Froslass to make sure she wasn't terribly hurt and to prevent it from worsening. She opened one eye to look at Mason, still wincing in pain as he beckoned her to keep thrusting; not until did they reach a climax again together did she want their time to end.

"Of course." Mason said formally as he resumed his thrusting motions inside of Froslass who had begun to enjoy every bit of it. The pain resulting from her hymen being broken quickly faded away as bliss took its place in overwhelming amounts. Froslass looked up at Mason with the same smile and blush she had on her face before being penetrated again; her walls pulsating and clenching down his member with every outward motion to build up more and more pleasure. Both were breathing heavily as they engaged in another round of love filled sex, with Mason's ears being treated to the satisfying sounds of a Froslass in heat with her high pitched, angelic voice. Faster and faster, harder and harder did Mason pound Froslass with his penis, feeling it being coated with the same female fluids that were shown off vividly from her own previous orgasms.

He did not stop fucking Froslass for a long while, the endurance gained from their previous climaxes proving itself to be beneficial. But as with all things, an end, a passionate end was dawning. Mason relinquished his grip from Froslass's hands and clenched her hips; Froslass clenched Mason's shoulders in response. Mason began to thrust inside Froslass with all of his remaining energy, bumping it against her cervix and pulling it against her soft, wet walls. Their breathing intensified only broken by a quick comment by Mason.

"Fr-Froslass! I'm gonna cum!" Mason yelled as he felt the buildup in his loins, ready to spill out at any time. Froslass to experienced yet another buildup of clear fluids that would spew at the same time Mason's would. With one more valiant thrust Mason buried his penis deeply into Froslass's pussy, grunting as he released a second, vast load of semen in thick hot gushes directly into her womb, where his sperm would fertilize her, perhaps in vain. Froslass screamed in her angelic voice as she experienced a hefty third and final orgasm of her own, causing a perfect unison of sexual liquids to fuse together and leak out of their tightly interlocked genitals. As Froslass's satisfied scream subsided, her mouth was joined with Mason's again, kissing profoundly as the last of Mason's cum was deposited inside Froslass's pussy before pulling out. Neither of them could speak, only stare deep into each other's tired eyes, blushing and smiling with all of their heart. How wonderful it was to have sex together to form an unbreakable bond between human and Pokémon.

Froslass continued to stare into Mason, slowly opening her mouth as if she wanted to say something. At last she had found the energy and affection to murmur "Mason..." in her native Pokémon tongue; one of the first human words she learned; yet the name of the human that had loved her for who she was. Humbled, Mason reached into his pants pocket and press the Premier Ball against Froslass's forehead to allow her to drift into a sleep most peaceful. Mason clenched the Pokeball with both hands on his heart, silently praising Froslass, who after the nightmare that happened to her, gave him the chance to bring warmth to the cold.


	7. Chapter Seven: Surprises

Mason slept for an hour or so, exhausted from his time alone with Froslass. How beautiful she was, and how she could fare in a real Pokémon battle, he thought to himself. Perhaps she was fair enough to bring a few rival Pokémon down before she did as well. It was a thought process for another day thought; all he wanted to do was relax. Mason was up and out of the bed by an hour and went downstairs in anticipation of his cousin's return. The house was still empty and no truck with wagon in the driveway.

"They're not home yet?" Mason thought to himself, as he looked at the time to see it was almost two-thirty. With nothing better to do, Mason went into the living room and prepared another old tape before sitting down before sending out Froslass, who herself had recovered and was somewhat awake. Froslass stared idle at the blue TV screen that had not yet been commissioned to play another tape as Mason pocketed the Premier Ball that housed her.

"How're you feeling? Sick? Tired?" Mason asked Froslass who turned around to look at him and gave no reply, which Mason took as a yes, hopefully. Mason started the tape from where he had left off from last night, returning with a scene where a group of men spoke only one word each as they held a fierce debate of some type. Mason chuckled quietly as Froslass stared at the TV, seeing more humans and slowly floated over to get a better look in excitement.

"They're not real, Froslass. It's just the tape displaying. You also shouldn't be too close to the TV while you're at it." Mason ordered Froslass, who ignored him for the time being to look closer, to see the humans fade into a sort of blurry mess. "Froslass, I mean it." Said Mason once more to officially drag her away from the screen verbally. At once Froslass pulled away and floated near Mason, thinking hard about what was happening. How Mason was watching and laughing at more humans but how fake they appeared to be.

"It's called comedy; basically stuff that makes you laugh. They don't really speak like this, it's just for our amusement." Mason told Froslass, who hadn't gotten the faintest clue of what it all meant. The two of them watched TV alone for some time, until Mason heard the familiar sound of a door opening. Mason's grandfather and cousins had returned, complete with them calling his name. At once Mason stopped the tape and stood up, telling Froslass,

"I think you should stay here, just for a bit. I'll give a signal for you to come back into the kitchen, all right?" Froslass nodded as she slunk into the chair Mason sat in previously, waiting patiently. Mason went into the kitchen where the boys stood at the door unzipping their jackets. The negotiation appeared to be a success, indicated by the smiles on Daniel and Neil.

"How'd it go?" Mason asked all but patiently to his grandfather, who reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick wad of Pokédollars; eight thousand to be exact. Quite a hefty sum, considering the work that was done yesterday. Mason put his fingers on his chin in admiration of the payment, all too pleased with what was yielded. Eight thousand Pokédollars was hard to scoff at indeed. Daniel stepped in and added his own insights in the matter.

"Eight thousand dollars is pretty great, no? I mean, hey, I would've been happy with five thousand, but eight thousand is a step to a whole new level!" he said with much excitement. Mason's grandfather was pleased with the deal, and Mason could tell behind his wooden face.

"Like I said, my friend would've happily paid any amount for that amount of black walnut lumber. He was more than willing to buy it off of us; money is hardly an issue with him. I'm proud in each and every one of you boys. Now, don't spend it all in one place." He said as he took off the rubber band and carefully allotted two thousand Pokédollars to each of the boys. Each could hardly be more joyous at receiving such a generous bounty. Mason pocketed the money as quickly as he could as he prepared to talk.

"Thank you for this, grandpa. I never thought the wood would be worth that much, but I'm happy to be proven wrong!" convened Mason, hardly containing himself. At once he was more ordered and clam. "And, it just so happens that, I've got a surprise for you." Mason turned his head to the living room and whistled briskly, signaling Froslass to reveal herself in full. Froslass heard the whistle and got up to float into the kitchen. Humbly did she enter, presenting herself to the full gang inside the house, harvesting the stunned reactions of the other humans. Froslass wasn't afraid or shy now of other humans, and even wondered why they were so shocked to see her, as she revealed herself yesterday.

"Yep, the same Froslass you all saw yesterday. I caught her earlier, and she's quite the figure, isn't she? She shouldn't be afraid of you, and you shouldn't be afraid of her." Mason said with pride, crossing his arms and smiling. Neil cleared out his throat being the only one brave enough to reply,

"She's beautiful…" he admitted, looking at her purple face concealed by her mask and dress; essentially a second layer of flesh. "Did she fight at all?"

"She just, sort of accepted me. I caught her with this," Mason replied as he showed off the Premier Ball in his pocket. "She didn't put up any sort of fight and willingly got captured."

"I trust you will treat her well," said Mason's grandfather, "Pokémon are marvelous beings, and it would be a sin to neglect her…" Mason propped himself a chair the others sat down as well and listened for what more he had to say. Mason spoke of how he actually met Froslass two days ago, wanting to keep their relationship a secret. He spoke of how she was so intrigued by humans, and of her banishment of her friends from the woods because the black walnut tree was chopped down. The group listened well and believed every word that was said about Mason's marvelous Pokémon. Froslass herself couldn't help but feel so noble and dignified in their presence while she was the main topic.

"I can't stress how wonderful it is that we found each other in the woods and how we've become such close friends," Mason said with his heart, "I only wish we met earlier." Mason felt very relieved to inform his family about Froslass, no longer was it a controversy relationship that was forced to be bottled up and kept in secret. It wasn't the fact they had made love in their absence; Mason truly loved her.

"So, with that out of the way," Mason brought up to his grandfather, awkwardly changing the topic at hand, "Is there any more work in store for us?"

"Firewood is always valued in the winter. More help is always appreciated for me, which in turn means more money for you. Not as much as the black walnut payment, I doubt we will run into another one of those again, but still good and honest money none the less." Answered back Mason's grandfather. Right as he finished, Neil intervened again,

"But wait Mason, didn't you say that your Froslass was banished from the woods because of the black walnut being chopped down? Won't she feel sad or angry?" Neil said, bringing up a valid point from the Pokémon's perspective. In truth, Froslass could hardly care less if the forest was harvested for its precious wood. Ever since she was evicted and captured by Mason, shed held an indifference to the fate of the woods; while she would be saddened if it did perish and was destroyed or erased, at the same time she did not care much if it did happen. She thought back on the words spewed at her from last night,

"You obviously don't need us, so we don't need you!"

In a way, Froslass was right. She had Mason, all she wanted ever since she first laid eyes on him. Froslass couldn't go back to her home, lest she wanted herself to be bogged down. When the moment came for Mason to ask Froslass if it was okay to cultivate more of the forest, she made adamant nods with upmost approval. As long as the gang had the energy, trees would be cut down, money would be made, and personal achievements between humans and Pokémon would be made.

For a couple of long, winter weeks did the humans cultivate the forest and harvest its wood to trade for money. Every day they got up and hacked down trees to load onto the wagon until it couldn't hold any more, and hauled it far away to buyers to snatch it up at bargain prices. Little by little did their wealth grow out of honest work, as little by little the forest declined one tree at a time. Life was indeed prosperous for Mason and his cousins, for the time being. A week later Mason's grandmother returned and helped by driving the lumber into the city to sell, easing the burden from their shoulders. Mason's grandmother also heard the story of his Froslass, and praised him.

A week and a half from that, Mason had his share of tree-cutting for the winter as he prepared to leave his grandparent's property to return to the city. Content with his profits, nearing fifty-five hundred Pokédollars, he packed up his belongings as he waved goodbye to his cousins and grandparents, loading up his car to drive off and return to his home. Mason thought about all he experienced during his winter visit, from the first sight of Froslass to making love to her to earning himself a very fine amount of money. He started up his car and gave one more goodbye wave to his grandparents' house as he drove off beyond the trees onto the several hour drive towards the dark night sky back to Eterna City, where he lived in an apartment.


	8. Chapter Eight: Opportunity

It was night time, and Mason at last came to his apartment in Eterna City, just as he had last remembered it. "Home sweet home", Mason said to himself as he moved the last of his belongings out of the car and into his apartment, breathing a sigh of relief of being home. It was rather roomy with a large bed, small kitchen, a decent sized clothes drawer, a built-in bathroom off to the distance, a small TV in the middle, and an old fashioned computer off in the corner. It also felt cold; familiarly cold, Mason's tolerance during the cold weather was reflected with hardly using the thermostat and instead wearing heavier, warmer clothes to save on bills. Not that he minded that much, except when he was reminded of the situation as he looked out of the window to gaze upon the tedious, blinding white abyss outside. But, even with his earnings he was stingy about his money and saved most of it, buying the food and necessary products for living, rarely spending it on a movie or the likes. Some thought that Mason lived a boring, loathing life with his limited spending, but Mason didn't mind it at all.

"Now, where are you…?" Mason said again to himself as he opened his dresser and dug beneath it, looking for something dearly. It was three other Pokéballs hidden underneath some clothes, containing his old team. Mason battled frequently like many other trainers in the past to see how well he would rank up against the rest of the world. Mason found the Pokéballs and quickly brought them out in excitement, ready to see their familiar faces again, as well as to introduce them to his newest member. One by one he sent out his old team, starting with a Skorupi he had caught in the fall, then a Forretress whom he had evolved last spring, and finally his Machamp, his first Pokémon.

"Hi guys, I know you missed me since I was gone for a long while, but I've got some good news. It's a surprise; you'll have to see for yourself…" Mason said teasingly to his Pokémon, hinting at Froslass who was still in his pocket. The trio of Pokémon looked on curiously and thought about what possible surprises Mason had in store for them that he brought back. Mason reached into his pocket to show off his Premier Ball for a little while, until he sent out Froslass in his apartment. She was greeted with the somewhat surprised looked the trio of Pokémon as well as the atmosphere of Mason's apartment. She felt the apartment's comfortable chill and was immediately at ease, happy to introduce herself to the group of Pokémon by communing in the universal tongue of Pokéspeech.

"Why, hello. I'm Froslass, you must be?" Froslass convened with Mason's original trio as she bowed her head in hospitality. Mason went into the bathroom to change into his sleeping clothes as the group of Pokémon talked and got to know each other.

"I'm Machamp, no need for any other name." said Mason's Machamp, whom he never gave nicknames to, leaving his Pokémon with their natural names. "This here's Skorupi, who's kind of shy, and here Forretress, who's a bit more talkative. A pleasure to meet you, Froslass." Machamp finished with a firm and friendly handshake. Froslass was taken by surprised by such a power grip he sported, but expected as much from a muscular fighting-type as him.

"Where're you from?" asked the Forretress, curious as all of them to learn where she came from.

"I'm from a forest a long way from here. At least, I think it should be a long way. I was cooped so I couldn't really tell. It was quite nice, lots of trees decorated with snow. But, I joined with Mason, and here I am." Froslass said humbly.

"Anything else?" the Skorupi asked in a somewhat embarrassed tone. Froslass was reminded of the incident that one, horrible night brought . She held her in one hand as she spoke again,

"It's… a long story. I'd rather not get into it, at least not right now."

"Why not know?" asked the Forretress, growing even more curious to her. "Why don't you want to discuss it?" Froslass felt a pang of sadness rise up as she looked down and played with her fingers, only giving an awkward "um" in response.

"Now, now," the Machamp said, trying to stick up for Froslass. "If you don't wanna talk about it, that's fine. Maybe later if you'd wish. Hey, I'm just happy to see a fresh face around here!" Machamp said, brimming with life and enthusiasm. Froslass looked up, exhaled deeply and smiled.

"Thanks." She said in gratitude. Froslass could definitely get along with this new gang of Pokémon. They didn't seem to have any hitches against her, and she to enjoyed seeing fresh Pokémon. At once did Mason come back into the apartment in his sleeping slacks, ready to cook him and his Pokémon some supper. The distinct click of the stove being turn on followed by the precious smell of food cooking caught the attention of all the Pokémon in the apartment, who crowded around him waiting to be fed. Mason cooked up some plain burgers as they all ate happily, content with getting some warm food inside of them, especially Froslass with her newly found pallet for meat. Soon they were full and brought back into their Pokéballs and put away, all except for Froslass. As Mason threw the blankets over him, he invited Froslass to join with him in his bed. With pleasure did Froslass move over to the bed, and slowly lowered her body onto it on Mason's rightside where she was tucked in. She felt the soft blankets go over her and immediately felt at peace, as well as drowsy. Mason gave Froslass a loving kiss before turning off the light and both drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Mason woke up refreshed at sleeping in his own bed for once. Froslass was still sleeping, and it was best not to disturb her. Mason got up and checked his computer for any interesting E-mails like every day before going to his grandparents. He sorted through dozens of junk mail riddled with viruses and advertisements until he found one that caught his attention that he received just a few days ago.

"The winter's end signals the beginning of spring, and the spring signals the beginning of the Eterna City Spring Double Battle Tournament! On March twenty-fifth, twenty-four trainers will compete in a four-on-four double battle single elimination formation tournament; winner takes all! A simple entry fee of five-thousand Pokédollars is needed required by all participating trainers, and every Pokédollar will go to the base prize of five-thousand! Don't wait; start training your Pokémon and sign up now!"

This tournament was by far the most famous of the city tournaments held in Eterna City and one of the biggest in Sinnoh. Twenty-four trainers, ninety-six Pokémon, a five-thousand dollar entry fee contributing to the equal prize pool of five-thousand Pokédollars. The total would be a one hundred and twenty-five thousand jackpot that would be shared only by the winning trainer and their team. Mason always strove to enter it, but couldn't due to lack of funds and his own confidence in his team. But with the money he earned from cutting trees, and the Froslass he caught, Mason could hardly find any reason to dissuade him from entering. This time, it would change.

Froslass woke up just as Mason had finished reading the invitational E-mail, letting off a groggy yawn. Mason turned around to see his Froslass, and immediately wondered how well she would do in an actual fight. Froslass seemed to be quite calm and passive, never showing any violence or tendency to battle in the first place. Mason would have to train his team hard, especially Froslass, if they were going to win this tournament. Mason thought about the decision to sign up hard, before he swallowed and visited the tournament website and signed up, filling the last spot. He took a massive sigh of relief; no turning back now.

Mason scrambled for the rest of his Pokéballs and sent out the rest of his team to inform them about what was going to happen.

"All right everybody, listen up. There's a massive tournament that's going to happen at least a month from now, and we've just entered it. It's a big one, a real big one all right. One hundred and twenty-five thousand Pokédollars to whoever wins; winner takes it all home. One hundred and twenty-five thousand! I'm gonna rely on every one of you to bring me that prize, and we're gonna start training soon. It's been a while since we've all banded together, and the time has come. Whose with me!?" Mason spoke proudly to his team, who gave off a hearty "Hoorah!" reaction in their native Pokémon tongues.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh! I've been waiting to flex my muscles again! This'll be fun!" Mason's Machamp spoke to his fellow Poké-comrades, all of which shared his tenacity except for Froslass. She had never entered a tournament before and she fought very little in the past, preferring to avoid conflicts all together. This would be a grand experience for her to see how well she can cope in actual battles.

"I… don't know what this is. It sounds like a lot of battling." Froslass said timidly to Mason's Pokémon. "But, it does sound exciting."

"Oh, it is! You'll meet a bunch of new Pokémon and battle them, but it's not as bad as it sounds. We can bring 'em down quite easily together! We're gonna take it all! You're strong on the inside, and this'll prove it to the world!" Mason's Machamp said energetically. Froslass still felt worrisome about this whole tournament, but the temptation of figuring out how strong she could be and testing herself against many different Pokémon proved to be too great. All of them would participate, and either win big or go home.

"We're gonna be training a lot to get you guys in shape. Take it seriously now; we could get ourselves a luxurious house to ourselves. Or, we can possibly go to the Seafoam Islands as a long vacation from winning this! I've always wanted to go to them…" Mason persuaded his team. Fighting tooth and nail at a major tournament, winning a whole lot of money, buying a new house, and taking a long, relaxing vacation at beautiful island in Kanto, what more could be better?

For at least a whole month Mason trained his team by fighting wild Pokémon on the outskirts of Eterna City as well as challenging passing trainers, winning and losing an equal share of matches. All of them gained valuable experience and insight into dealing with lots of different Pokémon and strategies, helping them build up a background of what to expect at the upcoming tournament. Learning how to deal with specific Pokémon, such as the peculiar Shedinja, to stalwart Pokémon like Aggron. Mason came up with a clever tactic; always have backup plans and swap them out for each match to always try to catch his opponent off guard. Usually involving switch ups with leading off, trying intentionally sacrificing one of his members with a "fair exchange" against highly valued targets, or waiting it out as they suffer from poisoning. Mason also bought multiple TMs to teach his Pokémon a variety of new moves, specifically for his Froslass, giving her Shadow Ball to take advantage of her ghost typing and Attract, to take advantage of her gender. She already knew Blizzard beforehand, as well as Destiny Bond, which took Mason by surprise during training and gave him new material to work with.

Mason forced his team to battle non-stop for the month, molding them into near-perfection. His Skorupi evolved into a Drapion, Forretress learned the stronger Explosion attack, Machamp's muscles bulged and demonstrated he would be a force to reckon with throughout the battle, and Froslass found herself liking battling alongside the rest of Mason's team, being mentally prepared. But, would she pull her own weight during the Eterna City spring tournament? Just a few days before the tournament was kicked off, Mason had a prep talk at night with his team to talk discuss what roles they would assume and how it would generally plan out, with a change in plans needed if necessary.

"All right, it's gonna start in a few days, so we better go over what each of you should be doing as a rule of thumb. You'll be supporting us, Forretress, get as many layers of Spikes down as possible to make it easier for us later on. Once that's done, hurt them even more with Bug-Bite and Rock Tomb, and if you can help it, go down with an Explosion. Do it if Froslass is out preferably." Forretress understood it well.

"Drapion, put that poison of yours to work with Cross Poison. If they get sickly, you'll be using Venoshock, or Crunch if the type match-ups call for it. When in doubt, don't be afraid to Protect yourself. Your poison is gonna add up in the long run." Drapion clacked his claws together in approval.

"You're gonna be the meat of this team, Machamp. Just get out there and trample all over them like in the past, all right?" Machamp crossed his arms and nodded vigorously, needing no further explanation.

"And Froslass, just cause a ruckus with Attract if they're a male. Shadow ball most of the time, and if you're sure it'll work, go for a Blizzard. You're the softest target here, so prepare to use Destiny Bond at some point, all right?" Froslass nodded firmly.

"Well, that's settled. Keep in mind some things may change up, but not too drastically. I'm counting on all of you to do stay on your toes and do your job out there. Make me proud." Mason spoke out to his team. With a plan figured out, Mason sent his team back to their Pokéballs to get some sleep and time to prepare themselves for the big day coming up as Mason went to bed.


	9. Chapter Nine: The Battles Begin

At last the day came where the tournament opened up to the public and to the participating trainers. The day was warm, the last mounds of shoveled snow were melting away, the sun was shining, and trumpets filled the air. Mason woke up earlier than normal to make sure he wasn't late to the tournament and delay it or possibly be disqualified. With a clean set of clothes, a big breakfast for himself and his team, deep breaths, and pounding hearts did Mason leave his apartment and go to the stadium at which it was being held. A lot of people had the same idea as Mason, as crowds poured in through the stadium to take their seats for a long day of heated battles. Mason inched his way through the masses of people towards the trainer entry line, where he was given VIP access. There he stood behind a much shorter line of people away from the spectating line, feeling anxious. He counted ahead and noted that there were only twenty-three trainers including himself, yet the tournament called for exactly twenty-four.

"Where could the last one be?" Mason thought to himself as his concentration was shattered by the booming, distinct noise of a motorcycle parking nearby. Mason turned around to see the last trainer enter as he walked up to the VIP line. It was a tall trainer, a biker of some sort no doubt. Mason himself was tall, but this one looked to be at least six inches higher than him. He sported a slick black jacket with matching black jeans, with stylish black and blue shoes. He had a large, single nose piercing ring that went through both nostrils, hazel-colored eyes and a large, spikey mohawk dyed a bright green. An offbeat trainer indeed to show up at a tournament like this, even more peculiar was that he wasn't talkative, at least not until Mason greeted him.

"Oh, hello there. You must be the last trainer to enter here, correct?" Mason asked out of curiosity.

"Yep. Name's Marcus. I've come here show off my true power, what Pokémon are all about. Those who don't are fools." Marcus said to Mason plainly. Mason felt rubbed the wrong way as he turned around to move up into the line to pay the entry fee, all of which contributed to the jackpot. Something felt off about Marcus; something worrying, and Mason wanted to know exactly what that was, before any Pokémon could show up on the field preferably. Soon Mason was at the receptionist's desk to pay the entry fee of five-thousand Pokédollars before he was let onto the stadium grounds. Silently he paid and walked forward, being greeted with the irreplaceable sound and atmosphere of a cheering crowd.

Mason stood in a single file line containing the twenty-three other trainers, presenting themselves before the crowd. The screams of delight and entertainment fell upon their ears and warmed their hearts, beckoning them to put on the best battles possible before them. Trainers came from all over Sinnoh and even other regions to participate and spectate in this tournament. Camera crews were stationed throughout the stadium to get live coverage of it to show on TV and the internet for those that wished to stay home. A marching band came out and played an inspirational, courageous song designed to bring out the best out of the trainers. A short man in a fancy suit eventually came onto the field with a microphone in his hand with a camera crew following behind him, ready to give the opening speech before the battles could be conducted.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Welcome to the annual Eterna City Spring Double Battle Tournament! Thank you all for joining us, and special thanks to the brave trainers participating this year! Please welcome our contestants!" The announcer said boomingly into the microphone, provoking another stimulating, overwhelming reaction from the ground. Mason couldn't help but smile humbly from all of the attention.

"Before we begin let's get a quick rundown of the rules here. The format as follows: each trainer will battle with the double battle format; two Pokémon out at once. Each trainer will also have two Pokémon in reserve. Whoever has their four Pokémon knocked out first will lose, and be knocked out of the tournament in addition. The first and deciding bracket will have twelve matches. From those twelve matches, we enter a split bracket: bracket "A" and bracket "B". Bracket A will contain a total of seven matches; the winner of the last match in Bracket A will have a spot reserved for the finals. On the other hand, Bracket "B" will be much shorter, only contain three matches, but the winner of the last match will also have a spot reserved from the finals. Once the bracket matches are done, we have the main event: the grand finals! Whoever wins shall take home the grand prize of one hundred and twenty-five thousand Pokédollars and a great trophy!" Well, with that concluded, let's bring out the scrambler and see which trainers will be battling each other!"

At once a large gumball dispenser like machine was wheeled out onto the field containing multiple ping-pong balls each with a specific number. One by one each trainer took a ball that was randomly dispensed by the machine and took a look at the numbers. Mason's number was twenty-two and color coded red. Mason looked around and saw a lot more balls that were colored blue, curious to what it meant. Perhaps something with the brackets, or perhaps it was just a festive thing. When each trainer had received a ball, the short announce spoke again,

"Now that everybody's got a ball, it's time to see who will be the lucky ones to battle! Everybody, show your numbers!" Each trainer held out their ping-pong ball as an official walked by and counted. The official called forward two trainers, almost seemingly at random.

"All right! Trainer number one up against trainer number two in the first match of the Eterna City Spring Double Battle Tournament! Get ready to fight!" Both trainers took a spot at the ends of the stadium as the machine was rolled back and the remaining trainers were ordered to sit down on benches on the outskirts of the playing field. Mason figured he would be one of the last trainers to battle judging from the method used to decide who will go first. Mason sat down and watched the battle unfold between an Alakazam and Medicham squaring off against a Gyarados and a Slowking. Mason had also noticed that the biker-trainer Marcus sat next to him, watching intently as well. Something gave a wrong impression off to Mason, something sinister almost, deep down past his fashion. Mason tried to spark another conversation with Marcus, seeing if there was anything to be suspicious about.

"So, who do you'll think will win the first round?" Mason asked. "I'll bet on the water-types here."

"Heh heh, only the one who makes the most memorable battle wins, especially the stronger ones." Marcus replied, eyes glued on the battle.

"What exactly do you mean?" Mason asked Marcus.

"Oh, I'm surprised you're asking me this. Aren't we all supposed to make memorable battles with all of our strength? I've made so many in the past that people are certain not to forget, I've dubbed myself "Memory Maker Marcus." Poetic, no?" Marcus replied. Mason did not bother answering, feeling foolish in a way. It would be rather foolish to not try to make certain battles memorable if given the opportunity, Mason agreed, but he still felt uneasy as a whole.

After a few minute had passed, the psychic-team won, and knocked the water-type team out of the tournament. The announcer spoke again with his charismatic voice.

"Here we have it! The first winner and the first loser! Let's hope the rest of the battles are this exciting!" Roaring cheers came out from the crowd again and saluted the victorious trainer, who was seated back at the bench by a different official. The same one went up to the bench, and picked the pair of trainers with pairing numbers to combat each other. Mason had studied each fight carefully, trying to expose a weakness, obvious or obscure, to figure out how to deal with them if they would be his opponents. Each battle also made Mason's heart pump harder and harder with anxiety; knowing eventually he would be up there as well battling just like the rest. Soon all of the trainers have battled, all but four remained that would be tested in front of thousands of people. Mason clenched his ping-pong ball as the battle official walked in front of the bench of trainers and checked each of the balls. One trainer stood up and made her way to the eastern end of the stadium as the official came and scanned Mason's ball.

"Number twenty-two! You're up!" He said loudly as he took Mason's ping-pong ball. Mason swallowed hard as he got up with achy legs and a knotted stomach as he sauntered over to the western end of the stadium, ready to battle. The time has come to prove if he was worthy as a strong trainer to advance in one of Sinnoh's most profound tournaments.

"Now we have match number eleven of the deciding bracket! You can tell that the pressure is on both of them, folks! Nothing's more important than getting off to a good start here! Trainers Mason and Felicia; prepare to lead off!" said the announcer into his microphone. Mason was going up against a female trainer named Felicia, and an adventurous one at that. She had military green vest dotted with badges with a long matching skirt and a knapsack on her back. She also had short, pitch-black hair with matching black eyes and dark brown hiking boots. Felicia sent out her two lead off Pokémon first; a Roserade and an Absol. Mason hesitated for a second before sending out his Pokémon; switching his mind into a serious one. Once ready, Mason nodded and sent out his own two Pokémon to lead-off, his Machamp and his Drapion. Both entered the scene with some pizazz; Drapion clicking his two front pinchers together as Machamp cracked his neck with his upper set of arms while cracking his knuckles with the lower set, before pounding the ground with all four limbs. Machamp loved drawing attention whenever necessary, as he smiled and winked towards Drapion.

"Wa ha ha ha! Let's go!" Machamp said cockily to Drapion, who paid no attention to his comrade's enthusiasm. The eleventh battle had officially been underway.


	10. Chapter Ten: Progress and Power

"Roserade! Sunny day! Absol, Dark Pulse!" Ordered Felicia, at which all remaining clouds in the sky were pulled back and the sun shone brighter than before. Absol's eyes glowed a menacing red as a dark and malevolent pulse of energy swept the field while dissipating. It managed to barely connect to Machamp, who shrugged it off and flinched at contact, but harmlessly faded away before it could connect with Drapion. Roserade was also stricken by the attack, but shrugged off what pain it brought with ease.

"Drapion! Cross Poison!" Ordered Mason, which Drapion obliged happily and lunged at the Absol with his frontal claws, digging deep into its flesh and depositing a potent amount of venom, leaving the Absol poisoned in the process. On the next turn Felicia had commanded Roserade to unleash a Solarbeam directly at Machamp. Roserade absorbed the harsh sunlight needed for the attack and fired it off in a concentrating, burning blast of dense sunlight. The Solarbeam had made contact square in Machamp's forehead, nailing his brain for extra damage; a critical hit. Machamp staggered back as he clutched his face in pain, being unusually pushed around by attacks for a Pokémon his size. Felicia saw how effective the Solarbeam attack was on Mason's Machamp and quickly ordered a Psycho Cut from Absol to bring it down. The Absol whipped its head around and fired neon-blue rings of psychic energy, finishing off Machamp. Mason withdrew him, silently cursing his bad luck. He sent out his Forretress, hoping that he could gain back some ground.

"Okay Drapion, use Venoshock!" Drapion fixed his rear stinger and fired a special, foul-smelling liquid at the wounded Absol, which soaked right through its fur and skin. The fluid felt like an acid, eating and burning away Absol from the inside, feeling the pain doubling from the toxins still in its body. The nauseated Absol only stood up for a few seconds more before succumbing to the poison coursing through its veins, slumping to the ground. Felicia recalled her fallen Absol and sent out a Skarmory, flapping its metallic wings before the crowd.

"Use Solarbeam again! Skarmony, take to the skies with Air Slash!" Roserade absorbed the sunlight once more to fire a beam, this time directed at Drapion. Skarmory let out a cry as it flew up and brandished its wings; diving straight towards Forretress. Drapion took the Solarbeam head-on as Forretress felt a metallic wing scrap across its upper shell, dealing a fair amount of damage. Mason ordered his own Pokémon to fight back with Crunch and Rock Tomb; Drapion biting deep into Roserade as Forretress conjured the surrounding and buried rocks to entrap and damage Skarmory, appearing to make it more lethargic.

"Don't stop yet, keep using Solarbeam and Air Slash until they're gone" The same sequence of moves were done again on the same Pokémon again, being quite effective for a simple strategy. Both of Mason's Pokémon felt weak and tired as they were being whittled down by Felicia's Solarbeam. Mason didn't want to give up, not until the bitter end. Mason repeated the same attack order as well, only this time Bug-Bite was being used against the Skarmory. Once more did Drapion sink his teeth into Roserade, biting madly and managing to finish it off, as Skarmory got damaged hard as well from Forretress's Bug-Bite. All three Pokémon on the field were now at an equal level of vitality.

"You did well. Yanmega, let's go! Quick-Attack!" Felicia said as she swapped her fallen Roserade for a Yanmega. A red streak shot out of the Pokéball immediately and collided with Drapion as a cheap shot attack to do just enough damage to KO Drapion. Mason grunted sadly as he withdrew him, and clutched his last Pokéball.

"Come on, girl, you can do this…" he whispered before sending out Froslass in all of her glory. At once she emerged from her Premier Ball, slightly startled by the loud cheers of the crowd. It was a study for another day, as before her stood a Yanmega in its prime condition and a tired Skarmory from earlier. She looked at her side to see an equally tired Forretress and she knew that it would be on her to pull through and give Mason a victory.

"Yanmega and Skarmory, let's finish up. Give the enemy a Coup de Grâce." Felicia commanded to her Pokémon. The Yanmega vibrated its wing at a glass-shattering pace with a Bug-Buzz, washing deafening sound waves over the Forretress. It tried to cower pathetically in its steel shell against the sound waves, but couldn't cover its ears. Forretress felt as if he was going to go deaf and pop from the frequency following his collapse onto the ground. Finally the sound waves subsided when he fell to the ground and was sent back to his Pokéball. He felt weak and disgraced, yet relieved that he no longer had to hear such a sound; a Coup de Grâce indeed. All the while the Skarmory flapped its wings and floated a few meters off the ground, glowing with utmost pride before the crowd. Skamory was preparing to unleash a Sky Attack upon Froslass to close out the battle.

Mason realized this and knew that there was trouble ahead. He had only one trick up his sleeve. Froslass evidently learned Blizzard naturally, and knew it was one of the most devastating ice-type attacks out there. He also knew that such an attack could be strong enough to sweep across both Pokémon in a double battle, and that both of Felicia's Pokémon could potentially succumb at once. With only the dream of avoiding being eliminated, he called to his Froslass.

"Blizzard!" He said in a loud voice. Froslass didn't feel intimidated by going up two-on-one anymore, as she inhaled as deep as she could. She held the air in her body for a few seconds, before expunging it in the form of a ruthless combination of wind and ice, bringing forth the power of winter's most cruel storm designed to punish those without shelter. The hazardous combination of bitter winds and ice swept across the pair of the rival Pokémon, grounding Skamory as well as the Yanmega from their temporary flights; both crashing onto the ground from the biting arctic storm that washed upon them.

Skarmory fainted as expected from a Pokémon in her condition, but more surprisingly was the Yanmega. It fell coldly to the crowd, barely able to flap its wings, as it curled up slightly and twitched. The Blizzard must've clipped it in the wings very well, mostly likely where its weak spot was. A critical hit perhaps, or it was simply too weak to endure the attack, even from full health. Felicia's mouth opened wide in awe before reluctantly calling back both of her Pokémon. Froslass had secured Mason a spot in one of the brackets on a whim.

"Now that's exciting! The lonesome underdog going up against two Pokémon, and coming up on top against the odds! Let's hear it for Mason!" the announcer said to the crowd, which showered Mason in cheers and respect. Mason's chest felt warm with pride as he laughed silently to himself to all of the praise. Froslass soon realized that all of those loud noises were being directed at her, for bagging a double KO. Froslass felt overwhelmed from all of the praise she and Mason received from the crowd, and viewers behind digital screens as she smiled happily.

"Well played, Mason. Good luck further." Felicia said to Mason, walking over and shaking his hand on a battle well done. Mason nodded in respect while shaking hands in return.

"Thanks, I'll need it." Mason recalled Froslass to her special Premier Ball as he went back to the bench to sit, awaiting the last battle for the deciding bracket. The last two trainers stood up and gave their balls to the manager, one of which being Marcus. Before going on the field, Marcus turned and spoke to Mason.

"If you are curious to what true power is, it's my pleasure to show you. Watch and learn." He said with a grin on his face, though not speaking in a friendly manner at all. The announcer started to cast the twelfth and last match for the deciding bracket.

"At last we come to the last battle before we go on the next phase of the tournament! It's Marcus vs Wilber; you do not want to lose this, my friends! Trainers, at your will, lead-off!"

Wilber, the other Pokémon trainer, was tall, lean, and in a stylish suit. The grey hairs and wrinkles on his head symbolized his age well. He sent out his two lead-off Pokémon; a Gliscor and an Electrode. Marcus sent out a Slaking and a Spinda as his own lead-offs. Whatever Marcus meant with "true power" and "memorable battles", was about to be shown off.

"A curious combination," Mason thought to himself, "What will happen exactly?"

"Spinda, Skill Swap!" Marcus commanded. At once, the Spinda glowed in a feint yellow aura as puff-like balls were channeled out of its body directly into Slaking's. A moment later, the same balls had been exchanged again. When the transaction was complete, the lounging Slaking slowly got up to its feet and pounded its chest full of energy, as the Spinda sat down lazily. While Slaking was known to be the world's laziest Pokémon, rivaling Snorlax, it still looked intimidating with its muscles. Now with it suddenly energized…

"Electrode and Gliscor! Come together with Thunder and Dig!" Electrode charged up a massive amount of electricity and released it on the perked-up Slaking as Gliscor dove into the ground to burrow underneath and take the Spinda by surprise. Slaking's body was shocked with the Thunder attack, but merely cocked his head a few times; appearing angrier than before.

"Now I will show you! Slaking, baby, use Hammer Arm!" The Slaking jumped directly towards the Electrode and held both of its fists behind its head. As it came down to earth above the Electrode, the Slaking hammered its fists against it, leaving a very noticeable bruise on the Ball Pokémon. Electrode was knocked out cold with a single strike. Mason shuddered in fear of what he witnessed as Slaking casually walked back to Marcus while Wilbur recalled his Pokémon in fear.

"Go, Arbok!" Wilbur called out as he sent out his third Pokémon. Still the Spinda sat quietly, almost as if it wasn't part of the battle. It was interrupted with Gliscor rising out of the ground, throwing up the Spinda into the air before gliding back to Wilbur. The Spinda didn't care if it got hurt, and seemed as if it didn't even know of it.

"Slaking, time to Slack Off." Slaking stretched and yawned for a little bit as it would normally do in its natural state. As it relaxed, the damage caused by the Thunder faded away completely. Slaking didn't even look that phased by it to begin with, and being able to shrug off any damage was adding insult to injury. How terrifying a Slaking could become when it wasn't lazy!

"Arbok, use Poison Fang on that Slaking! Keep digging, Gliscor!" The serpentine Pokémon raced up and bit deeply into Slaking's right arm, trying to deposit a lethal amount of venom into its system.

"All right, show this crowd a Return!" Marcus ordered, as Slaking pried off the Arbok from its arm and held it aloft with its left hand, clutching it tightly. After strangling it for a short amount of time, the Slaking tossed it up in the air and delivered a vicious backhand with the bitten arm, knocking it back directly to Wilber. Wilber shuddered at the sight of such strength exercised on his Pokémon before recalling the defeated Arbok to replace it with a Hypno. Just as it happened, the Gliscor rose up underneath the Spinda again, this time knocking it out. At least Wilber got something out of it, but the future looked bleak. Marcus smiled as he sent out a Pinsir in Spinda's place, complete with the angry clacking of its horns.

"Um, maybe Hypnosis and Acrobatics?" Wilbur asked aloud and weakly to his Pokémon, showing how drained of morale he had become so soon. The Hypno waved its pendulum back and forth towards the Slaking, where it only chuckled and felt no different. The Gliscor, meanwhile, dove quickly towards the Pinsir, striking it and quickly returning out of fear of sticking around too long. Pinsir winced from the super-effective attack, but its expression was dashed only a moment later.

"Oh, is that so?" X-Scissor and Shadow Claw it is then!" Slaking and Pinsir charged ahead at the opposite pair of Pokémon. Slaking pulled back its left hand and was engulfed with black energy before clawing downwards at Gliscor; Pinsir rammed the Hypno head-on and clamped its hips tightly with its two larger pinchers as it squeezed as hard as possible on its back. Gliscor was downed in a single swift attack and Hypno suffered an agonizing attack from Pinsir, only being released after a distinct, cracking "gwang" sound was conceived to let Wilbur know that multiple bones broke in unison in his Hypno's body. Wilbur recalled his Pokémon in pure fright of what he had witnessed. Marcus crossed his arms, smiled, and said cockily,

"Ha ha! That right there is what true power is! Let this be long remembered by you!" he exclaimed before returning Slaking and Pinsir to their balls. Wilbur sorrowfully slunk off the field and out of the stadium; dreams and hopes crushed.

"That was a battle if I ever saw one! What a compelling strategy shown before us! Maybe some of you watching will try to copy it yourselves!" The announcer said, concluding the last battle of the deciding bracket. Mason stared unblinking at Slaking in fear; worrying that Marcus would almost certainly advance far in this tournament. His concentration finally lapsed when he and the other eleven lucky trainers are called back onto the field, given their colored ping-pong balls again.

"Here's our twelve trainers that are advancing into the next brackets! Let's see where they will end up!" One by one the trainers showed their ping-pong balls with their number on them by stadium officials towards the cameras. A couple minutes of silence was given, before being taken away from the announcer's voice.

"And here we have it! The trainers with the blue-colored ping-pong balls will be battling it out later in bracket A, as those with the red-colored ping-pong balls will battle in Bracket B. Don't go away, things will heat up after our trainers heal up!" the announcer announced as the twelve trainers went off the field into the infirmary to have their Pokémon healed up and back into prime condition. Mason realized that he had a red ball, as Marcus had a blue ball, meaning that they wouldn't be fighting each other unless both climbed through the individual brackets and made it to the championship match. At least all of Slaking's moves were revealed, so he had an idea of what he was up against if both trainers made it far. Mason figured that even if he was going to battle against Marcus eventually, he would go down in a blaze of glory trying his hardest.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Mason VS Marcus

The battles raged on throughout the day on both side of the brackets. There was action nonstop, giving plenty of entertainment to the views, yet putting a lot of stress on Mason. Mason was thankful for two things; his bracket, bracket B, for being much shorter than bracket A by only having three battles compared to seven. Secondly, he was in a different bracket than what Marcus was in altogether, so if worse came to worse; Marcus would be fought in the championship match only if he and Mason made it there. Grievously, Marcus was clearing through his set of battles with his Skill Swapped Slaking with utmost ease along with his Pinsir, as Mason came close to being knocked out in each of his matches. Close battles are always more entertaining in Mason's mind because it was harder to predict who could win, and it made winning that battle all the more satisfying. He worried if he could in fact make it to the championships with his team, especially with Froslass and her inability to take hits compared to the rest of the team, but Mason repressed this thought time and time again, trying to avoid planting any seeds of fear that he wouldn't make it. His fears became real when the split bracket series of matches ended.

When the two set of bracket matches were over, ten trainers were knocked out of the tournament from the twelve that had entered the split brackets; only two had remained. The winner of the larger bracket A was "Memory Maker" Marcus, who breezed through it without any trouble. The winner of the shorter bracket B was of course Mason, fighting much less lopsided battles with a variety of strategies. Both of them would be going to the championship match; the grand finals of the Eterna City Spring Double Battle Tournament. Whoever would win would claim the gargantuan prize of one hundred and twenty-five thousand Pokédollars. With stakes this high, failure from either side was simply not an option.

Mason sat patiently in the infirmary as his team was healed up again from a healing machine as a tournament official came up to him and reported the fact that he would be battling in the grand finals, up against Marcus. Mason felt his knees knock and blood run cold at the thought of making it that far only to be kicked out by Marcus's Slaking. Mason responded to the official without emotion, "Yep."

"Your match is up in five minutes; do whatever you need to do and get out there." The official said earnestly. Mason stared at him, silently telling him "I'll be there."

Five minutes to possibly his greatest battle of his life, Mason brainstormed a series of strategies to try and deal with "Memory Maker" Marcus. Slaking could easily punch a hole through whatever Mason tried to throw up, even including Froslass thanks to Shadow Claw. Taking out the Spinda before Skill Swap could go off was a decent idea. The evidence from the previous battles showed that Spinda was just too quick to react to energize Slaking and thus nipped that idea in the bud. Waiting it out with poison wasn't a good idea thanks to Slack Off, Slaking's gender was unknown so he wouldn't try his luck with Attract, and Blizzard wasn't likely to freeze it solid. Machamp was his best bet; a good Dynamic Punch or two could be more than enough to bring it down, even better if Slaking got confused from the attack, unless it had Own Tempo, which what most Spindas carried. But the real problem was that only three out of four Pokémon were revealed by Marcus; he had no clue what it could be, and if it could be a tide-turner. Nothing was guaranteed to work given the situation but he would be damned if he didn't try.

Five minutes had passed before the same official came in and informed Mason that he match was about to start. Mason pocketed his Pokémon, took a deep breath, and walked down the hallway where the exit was. Mason courageously walked down the hall and onto the field, awaiting his challenger. Marcus was on the other said of the field with his arms crossed and patiently waited for the battle to begin.

The time to prove if he was indeed a skilled trainer had come.

"Welcome again everybody! If you're just tuning in, you've tuned at the best time! The grand finals for the Eterna Spring Double Battle Tournament is underway! Allow me introduce our battlers! First off, the man fighting with all of his heart perceiving against all odds, let's hear it for Mason!" Mason was greeted with a bombardment of cheers. Cheers louder than before; cheers intoxicating to the ear and soul. But he paid no attention. If he would win this, he would be famous and rich, possibly never battling until a very long time. The short announcer ran up to Mason and interviewed him before the match,

"So, Mason, do you have anything you want to say before we begin?" asked the announcer before putting the microphone up to Mason's mouth. Mason spoke into the microphone,

"If I were to lose, I want to go out in a blaze of glory. I want this battle to be a battle of a lifetime for me as the most memorable battle I've ever taken part in." Mason spoke humbly to the announcer from his heart. If he was going to lose, he wanted to make this a show for everybody and make it one for the history books.

"Ah, noble words indeed! You heard it heard first from Mason, folks! Now, let's go over Mason's opponent, the man who broke through many matches with a sure-fire strategy, give it up for "Memory Maker" Marcus!" An equal amount of praise came from to crowd as the announcer then ran over to Marcus and gave him a similar interview.

"So, do you have anything to say before we start the last battle?" asked the announcer. Marcus lowered his head and spoke directly into the microphone,

"If that's what Mason wants, I'll gladly oblige him." Said Marcus, referencing his nigh-unstoppable performance. With both trainers interviewed, the announcer stepped back and began announcing the actual battle.

"We got our words from the trainers, and what words they are! Everybody, prepare yourselves for the match of a life time! "Memory Maker" Marcus versus Mason!" The bell was sounded as the battle had officially started.

Marcus led off with his Spinda and Slaking, just as he always did. Mason decided to lead off with his Drapion and Forretress. He figured that Marcus's other three Pokémon were easy to deal with as long as he got rid of Slaking somehow.

"Do it old school; Skill Swap!" Marcus ordered. Once more the yellow orbs were exchanged from Slaking and Spinda to trade abilities and perk up Slaking. Mason kept his head cool as he ordered Forretress to lay down as many layers of Spikes as possible while Drapion used Cross Poison on Slaking, hoping to poison it and whittle away at its bulk. Slaking was stung deeply, but didn't feel the after effects of any poison to Mason's despair. Spinda sat and gazed idly off in the distance, distracted from the battle. Forretress scattered the first set of spikes onto the ground near Marcus.

"Hammer Arm!" Marcus barked at his Slaking, who jumped towards Drapion with both of its hands behind its head.

"Quickly! Protect!" Drapion shielded itself in a mint-green sphere to block the attack. It worked as the Hammer Arm bounced off harmlessly. Slaking wandered back to Marcus's side, slightly slowed down by the massive attack. Forretress continued to lay down Spikes; this time a second layer was scattered around the field. Spinda came to its senses for the time being and decided to participate for now.

"Spinda, throw up a Safeguard!" Spinda threw up a clear barrier that ascended and covered Marcus's side. Poison was definitely out of the question, at least for now. Still, Mason ordered a Cross Poison attack from Drapion, puncturing Slaking's thick hide. Even if poison could be deposited, the Safeguard stopped it from happening.

"Slaking, Shadow Claw!" Slaking changed targets towards Forretress and charged at with its left hand enveloped with eerie energy as it slashed downward from Forretress, leaving a noticeable dent in its steel shell. Forretress managed to hang in as it deposited the last layer of Spikes across the ground. Any Pokémon coming into this fight would have a nasty surprise.

"You're not done yet! Hammer Arm once more!" Marcus commanded, now causing Slaking to jump toward Drapion in a furious second attack. Mason told Drapion to use Protect once more to shield itself, but it could not. It tried and tried to conjure the protective barrier, but failed to do so. Drapion's persistence was met with a heavy, two-handed smash attack from Slaking, crushing Drapion and forcing him to lie outstretched his underbelly, fainted. Mason cursed his luck, but accepted the loss, as he sent out Froslass in Drapion's place. Slaking was also moderately slowed down by now from Hammer Arm, perhaps Mason could beat it after all.

"Okay, this is where it all comes together." Mason said silently to himself as he prepared the next phase of his plan.

"Forretress; Explosion!" Forretress built up all of the energy it could muster as it shone a snow white, appearing to only be a featureless ball of white energy. Blinding flashes of light radiated from Forretress's body before Forretress floated towards the center of the battle and willingly erupted into a grand explosion. Spinda and Slaking were damaged greatly by the blast and covered in soot, especially Spinda who was blown away due to its lightweight frame. Froslass felt no such feelings as she shielded her eyes and looked away from the Explosion, feeling only warm wind blow through her body. A clever and exciting tactic put out by Mason; Explosion's normal-typing having no effect on Froslass's ghost-typing. Marcus grunted in approval as he commended Mason for his play.

"Hmmm! I'd be lying if I said that wasn't an intelligent play. Now let's see if you can keep up with this! Pinsir, come on out and play!" Pinsir was brought onto the field to replace Spinda and directly into the Spikes laid out by Forretress. Pinsir stepped on several of them with both feet and hopped in pain for several seconds while landing on more Spikes per hop until the Pinsir found a small splotch of land that wasn't littered with the caltrops. It seemed to be effective.

"Let's up the ante. Machamp, let's go! Dynamic Punch!" Mason released his Machamp, happy to be battling as ever, this time with Froslass. Machamp heard the order instantly and made a mad dash towards Slaking to take it out before it could do any more damage. Dynamic Punch, though risky, would guarantee Slaking being defeated. Machamp braced itself with his right pair of arms as it jumped directly towards Slaking, seeking to bring down the pain from above like Slaking would do with Hammer Arm. Slaking saw the attack coming already and casually sidestepped it with a lazy smile, causing Machamp to punch the ground and leave a very distinct rupture in the dirt. Brushing the failure aside, Mason called out towards Froslass.

"Froslass, woo them over with Attract!" Mason demanded, trying to contain the Pinsir. Froslass forced Pinsir to lock eye contact with her as she seductively shook her hips and turned her face away, blinking slowly with her hand on her mouth. Pinsir fell madly in love with Froslass from her display, confirming that it was a male Pinsir and that the seduction had worked. Pinsir would hardly be a threat now.

"Enough. Time to Slack Off!" Slaking propped itself on its side and picked its nose to unwind in the midst of a battle. Most of the damage done to it had faded away as Slaking got up from its short rest on its hind legs again, still raring to go. Machamp was disgusted at seeing Slaking reverse the damage previously inflicted on it and even more so that Slaking embarrassed Machamp by evading his prideful Dynamic Punch. A compelling rivalry build up on the spot.

"All right Machamp, show everybody how strong you are. Submission!" said Mason, all of which Machamp was all too happy to do. Machamp sprinted towards the Slaking again, but this time he stretched out all of his arms in anticipation of a grapple. Slaking, feeling honored, accepted the Submission and the two beefy Pokémon locked arms with each other; Slaking defending itself against Machamp's upper arms with its own, as Machamp's lower arms grabbed Slaking's legs to try and push Slaking down. Both Pokémon struggled against each other for at least a minute as each felt thick veins bulge in their foreheads and forearms. Machamp felt himself losing the battle as he was pushed closer to the ground until he miraculously regained his stance and pushed Slaking an inch away from where they had started. Machamp realized that he was gaining the upper hand and he threw his back into the Submission, suddenly knocking Slaking down. Wasting no time, he used each of his four arms to get a secure hold on each of Slaking's limbs before using his impressive strength to roll around the battlefield whilst ensnaring the brutish Pokémon in a flawless hold.

"Wah ha ha ha! Isn't this fun!?" Mason's Machamp exclaimed while dominating Slaking. Mason's heart was lifted as seeing his own muscular Pokémon roll around in the ground clutching Marcus's Slaking, who was definitely taking a lot of abuse. Machamp had always aspired to play rough and not hold back at all, even gloating about it in the midst of a fight, which was undoubtedly evidenced here. Again and again Machamp rolled alongside the ground, bruising himself, but bruising Slaking a lot more. At last Machamp released the hold and flung Marcus's prized Pokémon back towards him.  
At the same time Froslass was ordered to unleash a Shadow Ball, trying not to take too many risks. Froslass whipped up a sphere of shadowy energy and launched it directly at Pinsir, who recoiled from pain. The impact of the solid ball of darkness along with repeated remarks from Marcus helped Pinsir snap out of his fantasies of Froslass. Judging from Marcus's tone of voice, he was starting to get desperate. Mason was gaining the upper hand.

"Memory Maker" Marcus was running out of options, evidenced by a look of disgust and worry on his face contrary to the mild yet cocky expression he always had. Even though that the Skill Swap Slaking strategy was undoubtedly effective, it appeared to be his only real strategy. "Memory Maker" Marcus was appearing to be a one-trick Ponyta as Mason continued his battle against him. Perhaps there wasn't that much to fear from him and his "true power" now that he had little to fall back on. Yet, despite Marcus's emotions, underneath was a diabolical scheme being brewed specifically for Mason. While he was almost guaranteed to lose, Marcus had one final trick up his sleeve to reassure his title of "Memory Maker".

"Enough! Return and X-Scissor, together!" The worn-out Pokémon pair got up and made a bee-line towards Machamp, who had already wounded himself from the reckless Submssion earlier. Machamp tried to avoid the attacks but failed to do so as he was quickly immobilized from Pinsir's X-Scissor. The same pair of pinchers used against the Hypno was used against Machamp to cut and crush his hips while Slaking took personal revenge with a Return attack. Slaking used a series of brutal slaps against Machamp's face before Machamp crashed to the ground from a blow directly to the top of his skull. Marcus had partially gotten his revenge from being humiliated before the crowd. He knew that both of his Pokémon were going to faint very soon, but that simply opened the way a last resort that would make headlines all over Sinnoh.

"You did great, Machamp," Mason spoke as he recalled a defeated Machamp back to his Pokéball. It was a three-on-one battle now. Mason's success was now completely in the hands of his Froslass. She felt the pressure be applied on her back as all eyes were on her; thousands upon thousands of eyes staring at her. Even if she was going to lose Froslass would give all she could give.


	12. Chapter Twelve:Bonfires Before Blizzards

Froslass was the only Pokémon Mason had left. She would have to persevere against three other Pokémon from "Memory Maker" Marcus; two of which were familiar yet fainting, with the last one being completely unseen and completely healthy. Froslass would prove herself worthy of being a strong and respectable Pokémon if she could pull it off as well as receive an infinite amount of respect and love from Mason as well. She swallowed as she saw Machamp being done in by Marcus's two Pokémon. She too wanted revenge as much as they did.

"Froslass! Blizzard!" Froslass swallowed as much air as her lungs could hold, and holding it there to "churn" the freeze even more. At the last second, Froslass exhaled a dazzling and deadly Blizzard upon Machamp's attackers, glazing them in a thick coating of frost, clinging to their skin and sapping away heat. The crowds expressed such glee and encouragement as Frolass brought upon them her wrath, punishing them. Marcus's Slaking and Pinsir couldn't withstand the sheer cold and slumped pitifully to ground, now out of all possible motivation and energy to continue fighting.

Mason grinned with determination as the ever-lasting sweet taste of victory was just outside of his reach. Marcus had definitely wore the expression of trouble on his face as he put unconscious Pokémon back in their Pokéballs; head lowered so nobody could get a good look at "Memory Maker" Marcus looking so deflated. For a long minute did Marcus look down, before he broke his silence with a bold laugh getting louder and louder with each passing second, until he was looking up with his eyes closed in sick laughter. Mason's smile and the crowd's voice were dashed and disturbed at his sudden laughter.

"What's so funny?" Mason asked. Marcus locked eyes with Mason in a cold stare.

"Ah, Mason, I must thank you for giving me this opportunity to demonstrate why I am truly called "Memory Maker" Marcus. You see, while it is true many memories are birthed in the midst of battle..." Marcus convened as he reached into his pocket to bring out his last Pokéball. With a perverted smile etched on his lips, Marcus sent out his final Pokémon; a grand and shiny Charizard. It had skin that was as black as coal with red wing flaps, sporting a smoky-cream colored belly. On its tail crackled a robust, red fire, permanently fueled by the Pokémon's own body. The Spikes pricked its feet but the beast felt no pain as it was called onto the field. The shiny Charizard let loose a deafening cry, as Mason and Froslass took several paces backward in horror.

"...the real ones are made from the conclusions of those battles! See my Charizard? The first Pokémon I've trained with at age ten. He's seen and done stuff you could only dream of, Mason. You wanted to make this battle the most memorable battle of your life, correct? And you also wanted to go down in a blaze of glory if you were to lose, yes? Allow me to make it so, with a bonfire before your blizzard."

"Charizard; Blast Burn!"

At the very instant Marcus spoke, the Charizard inhaled as deeply as its massive lungs could withstand. The flame gouts in its throat flared up as it churned the hot air into pure flame, ready to be expelled at Charizard's command. The fire on its trail flared up twice its size in preparation as a dazzling reddish-orange fireball pooled in its mouth. When the Charizard was ready, it let loose another terrifying roar as it shot a gargantuan mass of flame from its mouth. The beautiful fireball's form collapsed into a formless wave of fiery destruction as it traveled towards Mason's Froslass.

Mason felt his heart skip a beat as he saw the impending doom coming towards Froslass's way. An attack of that caliber would be more than enough to defeat Froslass, but that was the least it could do, he feared. That Blast Burn could do so much more, something so horrible that he refused to think about it. The fire was approaching faster and coming closer; Mason petrified with horror. At last he found the strength to speak up and give one last command to his beloved Froslass.

"Destiny Bond!"

Froslass, meanwhile, felt her heart stop as well, with her eyes open wide and fixed at the Blast Burn coming straight at her. Mesmerized by the gorgeous, reddish-orange wave of heat rushing towards her, she felt as if time slowed down just for her. Feeling the heat lick her face from afar, an uncomfortable heat, different from the heat she felt when she touched Mason. It was so magnificent to behold, yet so deadly, her subconscious told her. She wanted to move and evade the attack but she felt herself frozen in a twist of irony. Yet, her attention was retained to the danger when he heard two words be called from Mason, those two words being the most important words she ever heard.

"Destiny Bond!"

Acting without thought, her body primed herself to use Destiny Bond. A feint, cyan aura enveloped Froslass's body unbeknownst to her. The aura had fully solidified right as time abruptly jumped to its normal flow, her own perception of the slow moving Blast Burn being dashed as it made contact with her.

The Blast Burn hit Froslass hard, harder than anything she could possibly conceive as Mason shielded his eyes from the heat. In a swift moment her entire body was swallowed up by flames, washing over her like a tidal wave. Froslass felt a burning pain above all else as fire rushed over her body, annihilating the fabric of her kimono and transmuting it into pure ash to be scattered amongst the blaze. Her skin cracked and shrunk from the heat, blackening instantly in reaction. Froslass closed her eyes the moment she felt the first burns touch her body before feeling herself be blown back by an unstoppable force onto the ground. But in all of this, she did not scream, wail, or make any noise barring the crackling of a grand fire. Her last thoughts were occupied with the agonizing scent of roasted skin and fabric before hitting the ground. Shock had completely overtaken her body when the finals licks of flame settled. Mason looked back at Froslass, and was horrified beyond imagination.

Mason stared at Froslass, resembling a ragdoll after being scorched in a closed fire pit, silently in torment upon seeing such a wretched sight. Froslass lay almost dead on the grass, with almost all of the frontal part of her kimono incinerated, leaving only a stubby and smoldering body. Her frontal body was blackened and charred, with small embers still lingering on her flesh and rims of her dress to lick at her flammable form. A large portion of her arms, still part of her dress, were burnt away as well. Weakly Mason slumped to his knees, his mind blank, feeling tears welling up in his eyes. Mason began sniffing loudly as he struggled to breathe; breaths turning to sobs, sobs into cries. He clenched his fists as tight as they possibly could as he stared down upon his Froslass. A disturbing silence swept across all who were watching, in person or behind digital screens, as thousands of people witnessed this crime-like event.

"And there you have it, Mason." "Memory Maker Marcus" said to break the silence, arms crossed with a neutral expression on his face, seethed with pride. Marcus's Charizard chortled under its own breath at seeing such a pathetic excuse for a Pokémon in its eyes. Mason felt salt rubbed into his wounds as nothing was on his mind other than regret for entering such a tournament to be crushed, and revenge against the trainer that had caused this. Before his crying could get loud enough to be heard by Marcus, something had caught Mason's eye.

Mason was oblivious to the same cyan-colored aura still enveloped Froslass just before being hit with Blast Burn. The aura intensified before slowly ascending from her body, resembling Froslass all too well. The aura soon collapsed in on itself to form a large mass-less body of ghostly energy hovering above the battlefield. Marcus and his Charizard were shocked at seeing such a thing occur before them as the mass-less Destiny Bond attack drifted over to Charizard to envelope it. Charizard struggled as it flailed its wings and arms, trying to shake it off desperately, but the aura only clung tighter around the Pokémon, getting brighter and brighter. When it fully enveloped Charizard, the colors quickly spread across Charizard's body, turning the black Pokémon into a dazzling cyan color. It remained like this for several seconds, before a bright flash was given off as the aura had dissipated in an instant. When Marcus's Charizard's body cleared up, it had a soulless, empty expression. The flame on its tail dwindled greatly, before eventually snuffing out completely. Its body quickly began to grow cold as the heat inside of it vanished without a traced. The Charizard fell onto its stomach with eyes open in shock, not moving a single muscle. Both had been officially defeated at the very least.

Marcus felt himself choked up at what he saw; the feeling of pride and cockiness being evaporated from his very soul. The atmosphere felt heavy on his shoulders with a cold chill spreading across his body. Could he have really been wronged? Mason got up at his feet at witnessing Marcus's Charizard slump pitifully from Destiny Bond, looking in awe. At last the judges had enough of the drama before several came up and inspected each defeated Pokémon. Mason and "Memory Maker Marcus" held their breath, threatening to burst into tears on each end.

"Please, please, please say she's okay…" Mason thought to himself silently.

"This can't be happening, it just can't…" Marcus thought on his end, wanting to deny something like this happening. After several long minutes, which felt like long hours, the judges got up and announced their conclusion:

"With all tournament rules, there is a case involving Destiny Bond. If it comes down to a one-on-one, the Pokémon that was defeated by this move is considered defeated before the Pokémon that initiated Destiny Bond. This case is no exception. We hereby rule Mason as the victor of the battle!" Mason felt an overwhelming flurry of emotions hit him as hard as Froslass was by the Blast Burn. Mason threatened to faint on the spot upon hearing such a conclusion. He didn't know how to react as he stared upon "Memory Maker" Marcus with unyielding hatred for the sins he has committed against everybody in this tournament despite being concluded that Mason had won.

"Mason is declared the winner of the Eterna City Spring Double Battle Tournament!" the announcer said with a startling coldness, contrasting his playful and energetic tone of voice. Sorrowful cheers were hailed from viewers all around, especially those attending the tournament in person. Mason couldn't help but burst into tears as he slumped to the ground again, feeling simultaneously happy and sad.

"Mason…" Marcus weakly said, to which Mason immediately jerked his head upward at him, "Th-Thank you." Marcus said, nearly choking on every letter. Mason's grudge was eased, as Mason realized that Marcus was speaking directly from his heart, and nothing more. Mason couldn't help but give a subtle, respectful nod of forgiveness towards him as a sight like this stripped away Marcus's arrogance. Still Mason sobbed and breathed hard as the worst outcome that could possible arise from this conflict burrowed its way deep into his mind, refusing to be forgotten.

A dozen paramedics came out onto the field, sprinting as fast as possible with large stretchers. The paramedics loaded one with Marcus's Charizard, the other with Mason's Froslass. Immediately they ran towards the emergency room carrying the trainer's Pokémon with Mason and Marcus following suit. The prize money or fame of winning this competition didn't matter to them at all; all they wanted was for their Pokémon to be safe. Charizard and Froslass were rushed into the emergency room with only the paramedics going inside; the guards outside blocked Mason and Marcus from entering with them

"I'm sorry, but only authorized staff is allowed in this room. Tournament rules."

"What do you mean? That's our Pokémon in there; shouldn't we be allowed entry as well!?" Mason said violently towards the security guards. "Can't we at least be at their side? What is wrong with you!? I-"

Mason felt Marcus's hand be placed upon his shoulder, pulling him back and cutting him off. Mason turned around to look at Marcus, who had a serious, disapproving face.

"Mason, stop." Marcus said towards Mason with all of his heart. "Let them have our Pokémon and heal them. I'm just as worried as you are about them, but we need to let the doctors do their work. I'm sorry for putting you through this. It's just how I always battled. I never let up on the gas, and this is what usually happened happened. Please, understand, I'm sorry..."

Mason composed himself as he pulled himself away from Marcus and walked away from the emergency room in utter disgust towards the lobby. When he got there, he was greeted with several reporters with camera crews and adoring fans. Mason approached carelessly as the main announcer tried to interview Mason.

"Mason! How did it feel winning? What will you do with your money? What are your plans for futures tournaments? Will you-"

Mason pushed the microphone aside as he grabbed the prize money of one hundred and twenty-five thousand Pokédollars, along with a golden trophy celebrating his victory. He soon went directly to his car, depositing his winnings on the front seat, and drove home. For the rest of the day he did nothing but lie on his bed and meditate on Froslass's condition before finally sleeping in agony.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Unison

Every day since, Mason barely ate any food, or interacted with his original Pokémon, only thinking about Froslass, and praying that she would be okay. After the tournament, Mason visited the stadium infirmary every day and stayed there as long as the visiting hours could permit. He couldn't be any more depressed and uneasy at all. Every time he wanted to see Froslass, his request was firmly denied by staff.

"Please bear with us, but you simply cannot enter the emergency room. You're not authorized. It's our guidelines." The Nurse Joy put bluntly. "We're doing everything we can for your Pokémon, please don't worry."

"And when exactly am I going to see her again? You have no clue how much I care for her. We could be talking tomorrow or whole months! Do you not care about what trainers feel for when they can't even look at their beloved Pokémon!?" Mason said angrily. The Nurse Joy contemplated the situation, before stating,

"I could try to make a special arrangement with your Pokémon. But it will be very brief; our staff doesn't like the unwanted attention when they are working. Please do believe we are doing everything we can for your Froslass; we've never seen such a damaged Pokémon before." Mason felt offended, but had to accept the proposition, or he would probably never see Froslass again. Mason accepted the arrangement before being ordered out of the establishment as visiting hours expired. Mason felt distressed beyond all belief when he was in his apartment, only killing time by surfing the web and looking up ways to treat Pokémon burns.

Froslass, however, was indeed in critical condition. When she finally awoke from her state of shock she ached all over, and felt her arms go numb from the fact they were literally burned off in the battle. She tried to move, but couldn't. She felt as if she was wrapped up tightly in a cocoon of sorts, only by looking down at herself did she notice she every inch of her body was covered in medical bandages. Only her mouth wasn't covered with bandages, instead it was covered with an oxygen mask. Froslass's vision blurred even in her "best" condition as she could do nothing but wait for treatment to arrive and sleep on the bed. Often she stared up at the blank ceiling, forcing her mind to think about the most heinous moments in her life. Froslass alternated from hearing her friends, the shiny Abomasnow and Glaceon, scold and scorn her for something she didn't do, to feeling her body be incinerated by the hellish Blast Burn. Very few other things could be thought of by her at this state, which lasted only a few seconds before being shoved aside. It hit its worse when she slept, as she vividly relived those two moments again and again in disturbingly accurate dreams. How she tried to get away, but couldn't, and how she always woke up with fright and with a jostle, causing her even more pain from her achy body.

Yet, Froslass felt something else time and time again. Froslass reluctantly accepted the all too grim fate that her death was at hand, and that this would be her death bed. She would die here without a doubt. Even with this harsh reality Froslass found peace in what many would find only fear and denial. Froslass grew accustomed to the thought of passing on, and took solace in it. How noble, she thought, for an ice-type such as herself meeting her end at the hands of one the strongest fire-type attacks the Pokémon world has ever known. And how ironic, she also thought, for a ghost-type like herself to pass away, the type that most people associated with death, afterlife, and spirits stuck in the land of the living. Froslass cared not for what she would find at the end; she couldn't escape it and she welcomed it.

Froslass's condition only worsened with each passing day, with more and more stress being forced upon the doctors to try and care for Froslass, all in vain. Froslass felt it harder to breathe even with the mask and she felt weaker and weaker with each passing hour; withering away beneath the bandages. Her nightmares grew only viler with each passing night, and she longed for death. A week after her incident has passed, as the last night of her life was dawning. Her nightmares were replaced with something else, something that brought her the more comfort than anything else she encountered. A vague silhouette appeared in her mind, distant and black. As she drifted off to sleep the black shape became more apparent and distinct; she could decipher more features of it. Right before her body officially started to dream its last, the silhouette was made as clear as it could be. It was the human who treated her with tremendous respect and love; Mason. Mason was the last image in her mind; it was so beautiful, so powerful. Even in her condition, Froslass managed to find the strength to murmur one last thing before she fell into the most peaceful and soothing sleep she ever experienced,

"Mason."

Roughly a week had passed since Mason won, and every day he thought of Froslass. Nothing could distract him from his most prized Pokémon for very long. Mason was too depressed enjoy the taste of food and good weather; unable to try and discuss it with his team. Every day Mason went to the infirmary to try and visit Froslass, until at last he got his wish.

"I've allowed you to see your Pokémon for ten minutes, but no more. We operate on a tight schedule here, you see."

"Really? I can finally look at her after all this time?" Mason asked with excitement. Nurse joy nodded in approval. As Mason went towards the room he was stopped by one last piece of information from Nurse Joy.

'You may want to be careful, last night some of the doctors reported some sort of bluish light being given off from her body." Mason stopped for a minute, taking it in, before going off down the hall. He entered the emergency room, where there was doctor holding a clipboard, with a concerned look on his face.

"Is she alright? Please tell me she is, please!" Mason asked. The doctor looked at him silently, as suddenly the worst hit Mason.

"No… you can't be…" Mason said before rushing over to the bed that housed Froslass. There she lay, dead and motionless, with the gut wrenching elongated "beep" from the life support machine, informing all those nearby that she was no longer alive. Mason was awestruck by this, as he fell to his knees and lamented loudly over his loss. Salty tears seeped into Froslass's bandages, softening from the moisture.

"I'm sorry, we did all we could, but it just was not enough. You're not the only one who is mourning; a Charizard was reported dead around the same time as her." The doctor tried to comfort Mason, but Mason did not care. He continued to cry his heart out over the death of his Froslass, before finally coming to his senses. Mason composed himself and wiped his tears, finally accepting his loss.

"Please, just let me take her back." Mason said weakly, reaching his pocket for the Premier Ball that previously housed Froslass. The doctor complied and slowly stripped away the soggy bandages from Froslass's body, until only her smoldering remains lay before Mason. Mason closed his eyes and looked away before pressing the Pokéball against Froslass to miraculously putting her back into her Premier Ball.

"Thank you." Mason said in-between sobs as he left the hospital, still mourning freely.

It took nearly a whole month for Mason to recover, as his depression gave him a nasty illness. Eventually he recovered from the sickness of body and sickness of heart. Still Mason felt saddened at least once per day, especially before he went to sleep. The seasons passed on as Froslass's death made headlines all across Sinnoh as well as Mason's own fame for winning. While Mason accepted the cash only as a bonus, he bought himself a nice house in Eterna City and settled down. Mason finally pushed his sorrows to the back of his mind, being able to go about his life just as it had in the past for a while as he lived in a lavish house.

Winter had come around again, another cold, wet, white winter in Sinnoh. This winter was nearly as bad as the last one; with every other day a harsh snow storm came, only to remind Mason of his plight. Mason felt heart struck once more, as he couldn't help but look outside without thinking about Froslass. Her beautiful white dress, her gleaming eyes, her wonderful personality all occupied his thoughts. Mason had enough of suffering without her, as he made up his mind with a quite daring decision. Mason put up his three original Pokémon up for auction, marketing them as the team that won the Eterna City Spring Double Battle Tournament, directing all of the money towards charity. When that was done, the only prized possession he had left was Froslass, now deceased, in the Premier Ball. It was now or never.

One evening, Mason drove out to his grandparent's home out in rural Sinnoh just like last year. He looked up at the sky and could tell from the black clouds that another awesome blizzard was on its way. Nobody seemed to be home for now; the garage was opened and no vehicles to be seen. Mason wrote on a large notebook from the glovebox, "To whomever shall find and read this, I give you this car free of charge. –Mason". He propped it up inside his car and left the keys in the ignition. Snow was starting to fall. Mason made a beeline directly towards the woods with only one last task before him.

The snowfall was getting harder and harder, temperatures were dropping quickly, and biting winds blew across the land. Mason persevered against the harsh weather, running along the trail he had taken last year throughout the woods. Mason never stopped running, even going to a brisk jog when he was getting tired, all with one last thing in mind. The visibility had gotten horrendou, as thick fog blotted his view and only allowed him to see a few feet in front of him. Mason would not give up, not this far. At long last Mason found a tree stump; the very tree stump of the black walnut tree he chopped down. Mason could feel tears swell up in his eyes as he brushed his hand against it, feeling its texture, before unzipping his jacket and lying on his back beside the stump. Mason brought out the Premier Ball in his pocket, and pressed it with both hands against his heart. Mason felt the cold ground creep into his body, even though he was protected by his winter coat. It was approximately fifteen below zero degress; where the snowstorm had reached its coldest.

"Froslass, if you can hear me," Mason cried aloud to only the forest, "please promise me, we will be together again!" After making his short speech, Mason closed his eyes with the Pokéball containing his dead Froslass against his heart, never opening his eyes or letting go. Unbearable cold swept over Mason before his body and finally his mind dulled and blackened with sleep.

Mason awoke after a long time and got up to survey the surroundings. Mason surprisingly didn't feel cold; he felt his body reach a perfect temperature. He looked around and saw the black walnut stump he was next to before sleeping. Most of the fog had cleared up and it was rather bright and sunny despite the fact that Mason came here in the evening. He wondered if the winter had rejected him and he survived a blizzard. He started to wander back where he came from in sadness, only to find out that all of his footsteps had been erased and he could no longer leave any new footprints. As Mason noticed this very interesting fact, he saw out of the corner of his eye what appeared to be another person towards the way he came from. With sparked interest, Mason chased after the silhouette with all of his energy.

Mason ran and ran, unable to get a better look at the mysterious form in the woods. He was sprinting in the general route that he took before coming to the stump, only to find the forest endless. He couldn't leave the forest; he couldn't go back no matter how hard or far he ran. Yet Mason did not grow tired from running, as he found out that he had endless energy and he could run to his heart's content. The trainer still ran and ran after the silhouette, until he finally gave up. Once he stopped chasing, he slowly turned around and found himself face-to-face with a Froslass mere feet away. Both stared in each other's eyes for a long time, until Froslass ventured forth and gently rubbed Mason's cheek, feeling his warmth. She felt quite cold to Mason's face, but Froslass felt comfortably warm from Mason's body heat. A warmth she would like to experience again.

"Is, is this…?" Mason thought to himself, albeit briefly. Froslass pulled her arm away and smiled under her mask, looking at Mason with innocent eyes being slowly filled with tears, more than enough to send Mason over the edge. Mason stretched out his arms, Froslass doing the same, as they embraced each other as they erupted into a volley of tears, sobbing happily into each other.


End file.
